Man who backed Islamic State acted alone in New Orleans attack, FBI says

A US army veteran who drove a truck into a crowd of New Year's Day revellers in New Orleans had pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS), but acted alone in the attack that killed at least 14 people, the FBI said on Thursday.

The suspect, who the FBI said was shot dead at the scene after firing at police, has been identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old Texan who served in Afghanistan.

He drove from Houston to New Orleans on December 31. On the morning of the attack, between 1.29am and 3.02am, he posted five videos on Facebook in which he said he supported IS, the Islamic militant group with fighters in Iraq and Syria, the FBI said.

The massacre in New Orleans's famous Bourbon Street nightlife district during a holiday celebration has made for an unnerving start to the new year in the US, with law enforcement officials across the country promising heightened security for upcoming public events.

In his first video, Jabbar said he previously planned to harm his family and friends, but was concerned media coverage would not focus on the “war between the believers and the disbelievers”, FBI deputy assistant director Christopher Raia said at a press conference.

Jabbar also said in the videos that he had joined IS before last summer and provided his last will and testament, Raia said.

“This was an act of terrorism,” Raia said.

“It was premeditated and an evil act.”

The FBI is investigating Jabbar's “path to radicalisation”, but evidence reviewed so far showed he was clearly inspired by IS, Raia said.

Lawmakers in the US House of Representatives were told at a briefing by David Scott, an assistant director in the FBI's counterterrorism division, that Jabbar was not on any government watch list and the bureau had found no evidence he was directed by any foreign individual or group.

Surveillance video footage showed Jabbar placing two improvised explosive devices in coolers a few hours before the attack at intersections around Bourbon Street, the popular New Orleans tourist destination where the attack unfolded, Raia said. They were both rendered safe at the scene.

Other people were seen on video looking at the coolers, who investigators believe were curious passers-by, not accomplices.

New Orleans officials said the Sugar Bowl college football game scheduled for Wednesday in a New Year's Day tradition would take place on Thursday afternoon, and Bourbon Street was reopened to the public shortly before. The city is readying for weeks of Mardi Gras celebrations that begin on January 6, and will also host the National Football League's Super Bowl next month, with city officials promising heightened security for the crowded events.

The FBI said there appeared to be no link between the attack in New Orleans and the incident in Las Vegas on the same day in which a rented Tesla Cybertruck packed with gasoline canisters and large firework mortars exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas weeks before president-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House on January 20. The Tesla's driver, an active duty soldier in the US army, fatally shot himself moments before the explosion, Las Vegas police said.

Two police officers were among those hurt in New Orleans, wounded by gunfire from the suspect during the attack, which took place three hours into the new year in the historic French Quarter. At least 14 people and the suspect were killed, the FBI said, and 35 were injured.

Among the victims were the mother of a four-year-old who recently moved into a new apartment after winning a promotion at work, a New York financial employee and accomplished student athlete who was visiting home for the holidays, and an 18-year-old aspiring nurse from Mississippi.

Witnesses described a horrifying scene.

“There were people everywhere,” Kimberly Strickland of Mobile, Alabama, said in an interview.

“You heard the squeal and the rev of the engine and a loud impact and then the people screaming and debris, the sound of crunching metal and bodies.”

An assessment by Louisiana and New Orleans law enforcement officials in December found there was no “credible threat” to the city's events celebrating the new year.

Authorities in other US cities said they had boosted security, including at Trump Tower and Times Square in New York City, adding there were no immediate threats.

In Washington, police said they had increased their presence as the capital prepares to host three major events this month: Congress' January 6 certification of Trump's presidential election win, the January 9 state funeral for former president Jimmy Carter, and Trump's January 20 inauguration.

The FBI said an IS flag was found on the trailer hitch of the rented truck used in the New Orleans attack.

President Joe Biden condemned what he called a “despicable” act.

“We're going to continue to relentlessly pursue Isis and other terrorist organisations where they are, and they'll find no safe harbour here,” Biden said, referring to IS.

Federal authorities are also investigating a fire that broke out early on Wednesday at a house rented through Airbnb in the St Roch neighbourhood of New Orleans. Jabbar was believed to be staying at that address, and investigators were examining two laptops linked to Jabbar found there, Joshua Jackson, a special agent with the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives, told reporters. They were also examining three cellphones connected to Jabbar.

Jackson said it appeared the fire started after Jabbar was killed, but officials were investigating whether it was ignited using a device on a timer.

Public records showed Jabbar was born in Beaumont, a city about 130km east of Houston, where he worked in real estate.

Jabbar was in the US army from March 2007 until January 2015 and in the army reserve from January 2015 until July 2020, an army spokesperson said. He deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010 and held the rank of staff sergeant at the end of service.

IS is a Muslim militant group that imposed a reign of violence over millions of people in Iraq and Syria until it collapsed after a sustained military campaign by a US-led coalition. Weakened in the field, IS has continued to recruit sympathisers online, experts said.

Reuters