The FBI has reversed its initial “lone wolf” assessment of Wednesday’s deadly New Year’s radical Islamic terror attack in New Orleans, confirming multiple suspects were believed to have been involved in the Bourbon Street massacre that killed 15 people.
“We do not believe Jabbar acted alone,” FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan said at a press conference, confirming authorities found IEDs at multiple locations and an ISIS flag was on the suspect’s rented truck.
Initially, the FBI issued statements that the motives behind the attack were unknown and that the attacker acted as a “lone wolf.”
President Joe Biden later revealed that Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a Texas resident and Army veteran, “posted videos on social media indicating that he was inspired” by ISIS just hours before the attack.
There are at least 4 to 5 others involved, sources tell FOX Digital.
Waiting on official confirmation from FBI at an upcoming press conference. https://t.co/JTotbI0uHF
— Aishah Hasnie (@aishahhasnie) January 1, 2025
“For those people who don’t believe in objective evil, all you have to do is look at what happened in our city early this morning to see that it does,” Senator John Kennedy, R-LA, told reporters. “I told [the Homeland Security Secretary] we expect to put the full resources of the federal government behind this investigation.”
The attack occurred around 3:15 a.m. when Jabbar drove a Ford F-150 Lightning into a crowd on Bourbon Street. Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said the attacker went around security barriers by driving on sidewalks.
Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-T.X., criticized the FBI’s initial response: “They have been more focused on DEI initiatives… than they have about legitimate terrorist activity in our country.”
New Orleans has postponed the Sugar Bowl and Governor Jeff Landry issued an emergency declaration ahead of planned Super Bowl and Mardi Gras events.
“Whatever the problem was is going to be solved,” Landry said regarding security measures.
The FBI has backtracked from what FBI agent Alethea Duncan said this morning and is now investigating the incident as an “act of terrorism.” pic.twitter.com/qZsd32GWa3
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) January 1, 2025
The FBI issued the following statement on the terror attack —
Today, at approximately 3:15 a.m. CST, an individual drove a pickup truck into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing at least 10 and injuring dozens of others. After hitting the crowd, he exited the vehicle and fired upon local law enforcement. Law enforcement returned fire, and the subject was pronounced deceased at the scene. Two law enforcement officers were injured and transported to a local hospital.
The subject has been identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Texas. He was driving a Ford pickup truck, which appears to have been rented, and we are working to confirm how the subject came into possession of the vehicle.
An ISIS flag was located in the vehicle, and the FBI is working to determine the subject’s potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations.
Weapons and a potential IED were located in the subject’s vehicle. Other potential IEDs were also located in the French Quarter. The FBI’s 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.
The FBI is the lead investigative agency, and we are working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism. We are aggressively running down all leads to identify any possible associates of the subject.
The FBI has set up a digital tip line, and we ask anyone with information or video of the incident to submit them to www.fbi.gov/bourbonstreetattack or call 1-800-CALL-FBI.