UPDATE: FBI now believes New Orleans attacker acted alone

Published 1:00 pm Thursday, January 2, 2025

The FBI said the terrorist that killed 14 people and injured 35 in New Orleans Wednesday acted alone. FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christoper Raia, Counterintelligence Division, was in New Orleans Thursday morning for a live-streamed press conference.

“We do not assess at this point that  anyone else is involved in this attack except Shamsud-Din Jabbar, ” Raia said.

He sees no “definitive link” between the New Orleans and Las Vegas cyber truck event, then added, “Let me preface this by saying, it is very early in the investigation.”

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The investigation is ongoing as the city of New Orleans is being secured for the 3 p.m. Sugar Bowl kickoff, according to Governor Jeff Landry and Mayor LaToya Cantrell.

Governor Landry reported on what had been done thus far In 24 hours of investigation, comparing it to putting together a puzzle. He said over 1,000 federal, state and local law enforcement officers have been pored over countless data. They have reviewed over 100s of hours of surveillance footage from Bourbon Street and other areas of the city. So far, 400 tips have been investigated.

The FBI released the crime scene to the city of New Orleans at 2 a.m. Mayor LaToya Cantrell said cleaning up  should be completed by 8 a.m.

“Safety is top priority,” she said. “Assets have been deployed strategically. The confidence is there to reopen Bourbon Street prior to game time today.”

Assets include National Guard Military Police, State Troopers, Sheriff Deputies, New Orleans Police Officers, Homeland Security, FBI Agents and other law enforcement.

Raia said that Jabbar was 100 percent inspired by Isis. He rented the truck in Houston, Texas, and drove it to New Orleans. He left messages on an online platform proclaiming support for ISIS, and had been thinking about harming his family when he decided that it would not draw enough focus to the war between believers and unbelievers, Raia said.  It is thought that he chose Bourbon Street on New Year’s Eve because he knew it would be busy.

Raia said accomplices were suspected until footage was reviewed and the people were questioned who moved the coolers that held the IEDs. Multiple reports of other devices were investigated. No other devices were functional. Jabbar was not wearing a suicide vest,

The Mandeville house fire connected to the Bourbon Street attack continues to be under investigation by the ATF. A phone and two laptops have been found. It is not known how the fire was started at this time.

The Bureau is digging into Jabbar’s history and requests that anyone that saw him in Texas or New Orleans, knows him or served with him in the military, submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov or call 1-800-225-5324.