FBI identifies suspected terrorist in New Orleans attack, says ISIS flag found

By Jack Phillips
Contributing Writer

The FBI has identified the suspect who carried out an attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day that left at least 10 dead and dozens more injured. 

The individual has been identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen who lived in Texas, according to the FBI in a statement issued on Wednesday afternoon. Earlier in the day, anonymous law enforcement officials provided his name to multiple news outlets. 

An ISIS flag was discovered in the Ford pickup truck that Jabbar was driving, the FBI said, referring to the Islamist terrorist group that had controlled swaths of Syria and Iraq about a decade ago. 

“The FBI is working to determine the subject’s potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations,” the statement reads. 

During a news briefing on Wednesday afternoon, Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, said investigators do not believe Jabbar was “solely responsible” for the attack as the investigation continues. 

“We are aggressively running down every lead, including those of his known associates,” Duncan told the news conference, while asking for the public’s assistance in the case. 

More than 30 people were injured as Wednesday’s attack turned festive Bourbon Street into a massacre. The FBI and Attorney General Merrick Garland have both confirmed that the incident is being investigated as an act of terrorism. 

Also found in his truck were “weapons and a potential IED,” or improvised explosive device, and “other potential IEDs” were found in New Orleans’ French Quarter district, the FBI said. 

The FBI said its “special agent bomb technicians are working with our law enforcement partners to determine if any of these devices are viable, and they will work to render those devices safe.” 

Jabbar was killed in a firefight with police following the attack, which occurred at around 3:15 a.m. in an area teeming with New Year’s revelers, officials said. 

A photo that was circulating online on Wednesday appeared to show a bearded Jabbar wearing camouflage clothing next to the truck after he was killed by police. 

Earlier, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell described the killings as a “terrorist attack,” while New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said the driver was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did.” 

“It was very intentional behavior. This man was trying to run over as many people as he could,” Kirkpatrick told a news conference. 

In the incident, a truck plowed into a crowd of people on the city’s Bourbon Street, and after the vehicle stopped, the driver emerged and opened fire on responding officers, police said. Officers returned fire, killing the driver, police said, adding that two police officers were injured and are now in stable condition. 

Tens of thousands of college football fans were in the city for Wednesday night’s Sugar Bowl playoff quarterfinal between Georgia and Notre Dame at the nearby Superdome. The game was postponed until Thursday afternoon, officials announced on Wednesday. 

University of Georgia President Jere Morehead said a student was critically injured in the attack and is receiving medical treatment. 

In response to the incident, President Joe Biden said that there is “no justification” for what he called the “horrific” attack on New Year’s Day, saying he has been briefed by top U.S. law enforcement officials. 

“I am grateful for the brave and swift response of local law enforcement in preventing even greater death and injury,” Biden said. “I have directed my team to ensure every resource is available as federal, state, and local law enforcement work assiduously to get to the bottom of what happened as quickly as possible and to ensure that there is no remaining threat of any kind.” 

Also on Wednesday, President-elect Donald Trump condemned the violence and said he would “fully support the city of New Orleans as they investigate and recover from this act of pure evil.” 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican native of Louisiana, wrote on X: “The vicious attack on innocent people celebrating the New Year in New Orleans early this morning was an act of pure evil, and justice must be swift for anyone who was involved. 

“Please join us in praying for the victims, their families, and the first responders and investigators on the scene.” 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

The post FBI identifies suspected terrorist in New Orleans attack, says ISIS flag found  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.