By NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, Jan 2 (AfrikTimes) – Investigators in New Orleans are searching for the motive behind a deadly attack by a U.S. Army veteran, who flew an ISIS flag from his truck before driving into a crowd of New Year’s Eve revelers. The attack killed 15 people and injured 30 others before the suspect died in a shootout with police.
The investigation is focused on whether the suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a U.S. citizen from Texas who once served in Afghanistan, had help in planning the deadly attack on a city that will host the NFL Super Bowl next month. FBI officials said they are also looking for any links between the deadly attack and a separate incident on Wednesday in which a Tesla Cybertruck exploded in flames outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House on Jan. 20.
A member of the National Guard Military Police stands, in the area where people were killed by a man driving a truck in an attack during New Year’s celebrations, in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., January 2, 2025.
The New Orleans attack injured about 30 other people, including two police officers who were wounded by gunfire from the suspect. The incident occurred just three hours into the New Year in the historic French Quarter. The victims included the mother of a 4-year-old who had just moved into a new apartment after getting 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 just heard this squeal, the rev of the engine, and this huge loud impact, and then people screaming. There was debris—just metal—the sound of crunching metal and bodies.” Meanwhile, authorities have vowed to continue to search for any evidence that Jabbar had accomplices.
FBI agents walk near the site where people were killed by a man driving a truck in an attack during New Year’s celebrations, in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., January 1, 2025.
One New Year’s Day tradition – the classic college football known as the Sugar Bowl – was rescheduled for Thursday afternoon. Kickoff for the game between Notre Dame and Georgia was put off for nearly 24 hours while police swept parts of the city looking for possible explosive devices and converged on neighborhoods in search of clues. The city will also host the NFL Super Bowl on February 9.
ISIS FLAG
An ISIS flag was attached to a staff protruding from the trailer hitch of the rented vehicle, prompting an investigation into possible links to terrorist organizations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said.
Edward Bruski prays near the French Quarter, where 10 people were killed by a man driving a truck during New Years celebrations, in New Orleans, Louisiana on January 1, 2025.
U.S. President Joe Biden condemned the act as “despicable” and said investigators were looking into whether there could be a connection to a Tesla truck fire outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas. However, both the president and the FBI said there is currently no evidence linking the two events.
Public records indicate that Jabbar worked in real estate in Houston. In a promotional video posted four years ago, Jabbar described himself as born and raised in Beaumont, a city about 80 miles (130 km) east of Houston.
Jabbar served in the regular Army from March 2007 until January 2015, then in the Army Reserve from January 2015 until July 2020, according to an Army spokesperson. He deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010 and held the rank of staff sergeant at the time of his discharge.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a suspect in the New Orleans attack, is seen in this picture obtained from social media, released in November 2013, in Fort Johnson (formerly Fort Polk), Louisiana, U.S., 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division via Facebook via REUTERS.
CNN, citing officials briefed on the investigation, said the suspect had recorded videos in which he spoke about dreams of joining ISIS and even considered killing his family after a divorce.
ISIS – also called Islamic State or ISIL – is a Muslim militant group that once imposed a reign of terror over millions of people in Iraq and Syria until it collapsed following a sustained military campaign by a U.S.-led coalition. Even as it has been weakened in the field, ISIS has continued to recruit sympathizers online, experts say.
“This is not just an act of terrorism, this is evil,” Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick said.
Law enforcement members work at the site where people were killed by a man driving a truck in an attack during New Year’s celebrations, in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., January 2, 2025.
