At least 15 people are dead and at least 30 people were injured after a man drove a truck into a crowd at Bourbon and Canal streets in New Orleans on New Year’s Day in a terrorist attack, according to the FBI.
It happened around 3:15 a.m. toward the end of New Year’s celebrations in New Orleans and hours before the expected kickoff of the Allstate Sugar Bowl, a college football quarterfinal held in the city’s Caesars Superdome.
The FBI confirmed the identity of the suspected driver of the truck as Shamsud Din Jabbar, 42, of Texas. A new photo of Jabbar was released early Thursday morning:
FBI
NBC reports that the FBI is not prepared to say that Jabbar carried out the attack alone.
The Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office is actively working to identify the victims killed in the tragedy, but may not release all of the names of those involved for several days.
As the FBI focuses its search for new information in the attack, New Orleans officials are working around the clock to shift their efforts to protecting the Superdome ahead of the Allstate Sugar Bowl game, which was rescheduled for Thursday.
According to New Orleans Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick, she is confident that the game will be safe and enjoyable for all who attend.
Kirkpatrick is expecting a briefing from the FBI Thursday morning, and says the goal is to reopen Bourbon Street later in the afternoon.
Here is what is known about the suspects, victims, and investigation.
Latest information:
- 15 dead, dozens injured after truck plows through Bourbon Street crowds
- Suspect identified as Shamsud Din Jabbar, 42, of Texas
- Suspect was a U.S.-born citizen and Army veteran
- Suspect had ISIS flag, guns and explosives in truck; FBI investigating any connection to terrorist groups
- Two explosive devices found in the French Quarter detonated
- The FBI has cleared three men and a woman who were investigated in connection with suspicious devices found in New Orleans, according to NBC.
- FBI is not prepared to say that Jabbar acted alone
- Those who had contact with Jabbar over the past 72 hours are asked to contact the FBI
- An emergency declaration has been requested as investigators continue to respond to the terror attack
- 400 officers responded to the attack in the French Quarter
- Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill says one of the IEDs found was placed between two law enforcement cars after the driver plowed into crowds.
- Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office says it will take days to identify all who were killed in the attack
- Those deceased have been removed from Bourbon Street
- The next news conference expected on the attack is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, according to the FBI
- President Joe Biden has directed the attorney general, FBI director, the National Counterterrorism Center, and secretary of Homeland Security to work intensively until all information on the attack has been completed. Biden also confirmed that federal officials are investigating an explosion involving a cyber truck at the Trump hotel in Las Vegas. Biden has not ruled out a connection between that explosion and the New Orleans attack.
- Bourbon Street traffic is expected to reopen to pedestrians on Thursday, per NBC
