The man in charge of A fatal attack The FBI said he was identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen of Bourbon Street in New Orleans. He previously served in the U.S. Army. And President Biden said Wednesday evening that he feels inspired by ISIS.
Officials said 15 people were killed and dozens more injured when an attacker dodged a barricade and charged through a crowd of New Year’s celebrants rushing down Bourbon Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter early Wednesday. New Orleans Police Chief Ann Kirkpatrick described the attack as “a very intentional act.”
“He was hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage he did,” Kirkpatrick said.
The FBI said it was investigating the incident as an “act of terrorism.”
“The FBI also reported to me that just hours before the attack, he posted an ISIS-inspired video on social media expressing a desire to kill,” President Biden said in a televised address Wednesday evening.
What happened on Bourbon Street in New Orleans?
The attacker drove a pickup truck into the crowd around 3:15 a.m., killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens more, officials said. He then got out of the vehicle, a Ford pickup truck he believed to be rented in Texas, and fired shots at local law enforcement, the FBI said. Two police officers were injured and taken to a nearby hospital.
New Orleans police said the attacker was shot by police and died at the scene.
“This man was trying to hit as many people as possible,” Kirkpatrick said, adding, “The two officers who were shot are in stable condition.”
Officials said Jabbar bypassed barriers erected on Bourbon Street instead of security bollards during the attack. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said work to replace street bollards before the upcoming Super Bowl is nearly complete.
CBS News
Kirkpatrick said Jabbar drove onto the sidewalk, bypassing the barrier and bypassing patrol cars, barriers and law enforcement.
“We had a car there, a barrier there, a police officer there, and he was still walking around,” Kirkpatrick said.
Two sources familiar with the investigation told CBS News that the deceased attacker was wearing body armor. A long gun “equipped with a suppressor” that acts as a silencer was recovered at the scene, law enforcement sources said.
FBI, Department of Homeland Security and Bomb Squad investigators all went to the scene at an Airbnb in New Orleans’ St. Roch neighborhood, where officials told CBS News the suspect had been staying in New Orleans. The building caught fire on Wednesday and the fire is under investigation.
Did the Bourbon Street attacker act alone?
“We do not believe Java is solely responsible,” FBI Special Agent Alessia Duncan said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon, asking for the public’s help in providing photos, videos or other information related to Java.
An ISIS flag was found on the vehicle’s trailer hitch, the FBI said, adding that the agency was working to determine whether the subject may have ties to the terrorist organization.
A CBS News review of vehicle images showed the truck that crashed into the crowd had a large black flag flying from its rear bumper.
“The subject’s vehicle contained weapons and a potential IED,” the FBI said in a statement Wednesday. “Other potential IEDs were also located in the French Quarter.”
The FBI said Wednesday afternoon that two IEDs were discovered and neutralized.
As of noon Wednesday, neither ISIS nor any other foreign terrorist organization had claimed responsibility for the attack, an official familiar with the investigation told CBS News.
What we know about the Bourbon Street Attacker
Jabbar was a Houston resident who previously served in the U.S. Army and Army Reserves, according to records obtained by CBS News. FBI Houston said Wednesday that authorities were conducting law enforcement activities in North Houston.
FBI
In a 2020 YouTube video that appears to have been posted by Jabbar, he described himself as a real estate agent who was born and raised in Beaumont, Texas. The video was removed from YouTube on Wednesday afternoon.
A Georgia State University spokesperson told CBS News that Jabbar attended the university from 2015 to 2017 and earned a BBA in computer information systems.
He had hunting and fishing licenses and appears to have a real estate license that expires in 2023, according to Texas Real Estate Commission Records.
He also had previous run-ins with the law, including theft and driving without a license. According to court records, Java was charged with misdemeanor theft in 2002 and driving with an invalid license in 2005.
Jabbar has been married twice, his first marriage ending in 2012, according to court records. He married again in 2017 and then divorced in 2022.
A Navy spokesperson confirmed to CBS News that Jabbar enlisted at Naval Recruiting District Houston on Aug. 12, 2004, and was discharged from the delayed entry program a month later.
He then served in the U.S. Army as a human resources specialist and information technology specialist from March 2007 to January 2015, an Army spokesperson confirmed, according to CBS News. Jabbar was deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010.
After completing active duty, Jabbar served as an information technology specialist in the Army Reserve from 2015 to 2020. He completed his service as a sergeant, the Army said.
What we know about the victims of the New Orleans attacks
The city initially confirmed at least 10 people were killed, but the medical examiner’s office and the FBI later said the death toll in the attack had risen to 15. Dozens of people were injured and taken to nearby hospitals. Kirkpatrick said at least 35 people were hospitalized.
Details about some of the victims They started appearing a few hours after the attack.
St. Thomas More Catholic High School in Lafayette, Louisiana, confirmed that Tiger Bech, a 2015 graduate, was one of the victims of the Bourbon Street attack. “Tiger was a 2015 graduate and a standout athlete in soccer, lacrosse, and track and field,” the school said. Beck, 28, a football star, attended Princeton University on a scholarship and twice earned all-Ivy League honors as a comeback specialist, CBS Sports reported.
A University of Georgia student was injured in the attack, the school confirmed. “We have learned that a University of Georgia student is receiving treatment for serious injuries suffered in this attack,” University of Georgia President Jere W. Morehead said on social media.
Two Israeli citizens were also injured in the attack, according to a social media post by the Israeli Foreign Minister.
Robert Legar,
Pat Milton, Nicole Sganga, Eleanor Watson, Anna Schulter,
and Kati Weis contributed to this report.
