Bourbon Street Attack: Suspect posted videos on social media hours before attack
ByWHIO Staff
Multiple casualties reported after crash on Bourbon Street
ByWHIO Staff
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — At least 15 people are dead and over 30 are injured after a vehicle intentionally plowed into a crowd on a busy street in New Orleans’ French Quarter in what is being investigated as an “act of terrorism.”
Jabbar drove onto a sidewalk, around a police barricade, and hurtled down Bourbon Street in “very intentional behavior” shortly after 3 a.m. on Wednesday. After doing so, he opened fire on officers.
“He was hellbent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did,” New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said. “It was very intentional behavior. This man was trying to run over as many people as he could.”
Jabbar died in a shootout with police, authorities confirmed.
Two police officers were shot, but are expected to be OK.
Investigators said the Ford pickup truck Jabbar was driving appears to have been rented. An ISIS flag was located on the truck’s rear bumper and investigators found weapons and a potential improvised explosion device (IED) inside the truck. At least one other potential IED was located in the French Quarter, according to the FBI.
“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.”
In a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Alethea Duncan, an assistant FBI special agent, confirmed that the FBI did not believe Jabbar was “solely responsible” for the attack.
According to a Louisiana State Police intelligence bulletin obtained by the Associated Press, surveillance footage captured three men and a woman placing one of multiple IEDs.
The intelligence bulletin also indicated that the devices were wired for remote detonation and a corresponding remote control was found in the truck, the Associated Press reported.
The FBI is working to determine if Jabbar had any associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations.
In response to the attack, the Sugar Bowl game between the University of Georgia and the University of Notre Dame was postponed to Thursday. The game is a quarterfinal matchup in the College Football Playoff.
President Joe Biden addressed the nation after a deadly attack in New Orleans.
Biden expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and thanked law enforcement for their quick actions.
“I am grateful for the brave and swift response of local law enforcement in preventing even greater death and injury,” Biden said. “I have directed my team to ensure every resource is available as federal, state, and local law enforcement work assiduously to get to the bottom of what happened as quickly as possible and to ensure that there is no remaining threat of any kind.”
The president said the FBI informed him that the suspect had posted videos on social media hours before the attack indicating that he was inspired by ISIS.
The FBI has set up a digital tip line in regard to the attack. Anyone with information or video of the attack can submit them here.
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New Orleans Car Into Crowd Emergency services attend the scene on Bourbon Street after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
New Orleans Car Into Crowd Emergency services attend the scene after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
New Orleans Car Into Crowd A police barricade near the scene after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
New Orleans Car Into Crowd Emergency services attend the scene after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
New Orleans Car Into Crowd A member of the emergency services attends the scene after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
New Orleans Car Into Crowd Emergency services attend the scene after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
New Orleans Car Into Crowd A member of the emergency services walks past a police barricade after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
New Orleans Car Into Crowd A cyclist passes a police barricade near the scene after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
New Orleans Car Into Crowd The scene after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
New Orleans Car Into Crowd Emergency services attend the scene after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
New Orleans Car Into Crowd Superintendent of Police for the New Orleans Police Department Anne Kirkpatrick makes a statement after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
New Orleans Car Into Crowd Emergency services attend the scene on Bourbon Street after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
New Orleans Car Into Crowd Emergency services attend the scene on Bourbon Street after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
New Orleans Car Into Crowd Emergency services attend the scene on Bourbon Street after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
New Orleans Car Into Crowd New Orleans mayor LaToya Cantrell makes a statement after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
New Orleans Car Into Crowd Emergency services attend the scene after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
New-Orleans-Car-Into-Crowd A coroner's van is parked on the corner of Bourbon St. and Canal St, after a vehicle raced into a crowd of revelers early on New Year's Day, in New Orleans on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Brook) (Jack Brook/AP)
New-Orleans-Car-Into-Crowd A mounted police officer arrives on Canal Street after a vehicle drove into a crowd earlier in New Orleans, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Kevin McGill) (Kevin McGill/AP)
New-Orleans-Car-Into-Crowd Police in tactical gear gather on the corner of Spain and Urquhart street after a vehicle drove into a crowd on Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Brook) (Jack Brook/AP)
