The investigation into the deadly truck attack on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street continues after a driver plowed right into a crowd of New Year’s Day revelers, killing at least 14 people and injuring dozens more. The assault is being investigated as an act of terrorism, in line with the FBI.
The driver of the truck, who was shot and killed by police hearth moments after he drove into the group, was identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen from Texas. He was within the U.S. navy, together with an 11-month deployment to Afghanistan, in line with an Army spokesperson. He was discharged in 2015 and labored in actual property lately.
The FBI initially stated that 15 individuals, excluding the driving force, died within the assault. The quantity was revised by the New Orleans coroner’s workplace on Thursday to say that the determine included the attacker.
Investigators are persevering with to seek for a motive. Officials repeatedly stated on Wednesday and Thursday that they thought Jabbar might have had assist with the assault, however a U.S. official with the investigation informed CBS News Thursday afternoon that the FBI now believes there could also be no accomplices.
Members of the House Homeland Security Committee and members of the Louisiana congressional delegation are set to be briefed by the FBI in a name on Thursday morning.
Early Wednesday morning, simply hours after New Orleans had rung in 2025, authorties say Jabbar drove a Ford electrical pickup truck into a crowd of revelers on Bourbon Street, swerving round boundaries and driving up onto the sidewalk. He then bought out of the automotive and commenced firing at law enforcement officials. He died after exchanging gunfire with three responding officers, the FBI stated. The New Orleans Police Department said he was struck by police hearth and declared useless on the scene.
An ISIS flag was discovered on the truck’s trailer hitch, the FBI stated. In televised remarks Wednesday evening, President Biden stated the FBI has decided that the person “posted movies to social media indicating that he was impressed by ISIS, expressing a want to kill” simply hours earlier than the assault.
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Investigators discovered a “no less than one IED,” or improvised explosive gadget, within the man’s car, a legislation enforcement supply with information of the investigation informed CBS News on Thursday. “Other potential IEDs had been additionally positioned within the French Quarter,” the place Bourbon Street is, in line with a Wednesday assertion from the FBI. The FBI stated Wednesday afternoon that two IEDs had been discovered and neutralized. Authorities are persevering with to analyze if the IEDs had been viable.
An extended gun with a suppressive gadget appearing as a silencer was additionally discovered within the car, legislation enforcement sources stated, and the person was sporting physique armor. A legislation enforcement supply with information of the investigation informed CBS News {that a} handgun was additionally discovered on the scene, and investigators are wanting into whether or not Jabbar illegally acquired the weapons.
