Police officers stand at the scene where a truck drove into a large crowd on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, January 1, 2025, in this screengrab taken from a video - Reuters
US Citizen Shamsud-Din Jabbar Identified as Driver in New Orleans Attack
A 42-year-old Texas man crashed a pickup truck into a crowd celebrating New Year's Day in New Orleans' French Quarter and then opened fire on police, killing at least 10 people and injuring 35, in an early morning attack the FBI said was a potential act of terrorism.
The suspect, identified by the FBI as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a US citizen from Texas, died at the scene in the shootout with police, officials said.
"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," the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the lead investigator, said in a statement.
Investigators found weapons and a potential explosive device in the vehicle, and other potential explosive devices were found in the French Quarter, the FBI said. It said the vehicle appeared to have been rented.
One city leader described the assailant as being in full military gear.
US Representative Troy Carter told ABC News the death toll may have risen to 15 but that detail was not immediately confirmed by law enforcement officials.
"This man was trying to run over as many people as he could," Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick said at a televised press conference on Wednesday. "He was hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did."
The incident occurred at 3:15 a.m. (0915 GMT) near the intersection of Canal and Bourbon Streets, a historic tourist destination in the city's French Quarter known for attracting large crowds with its music and bars.
Kirkpatrick said the driver, who swerved around barricades, shot and wounded two police officers from the vehicle after it crashed. The officers were in stable condition, she added.
"We know the perpetrator has been killed," said New Orleans City Councilman Oliver Thomas. "As we search for a motive, remember there is no making sense of evil."
According to another Reuter’s story, more than 300 officers were on duty at the time of the incident, police said. The city hosts the Sugar Bowl, a classic American college football game, each New Year’s Day, and will also be the site of the NFL Super Bowl on February 9.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell called the incident a “terrorist attack.”
A verified video taken by an onlooker shows at least two twisted bodies in the street, with one of them lying in what appears to be a puddle of blood. A bystander is seen kneeling over one of the bodies as a group of uniformed military personnel in green uniforms and carrying firearms runs past.
President Joe Biden was briefed on the attack and the White House was in touch with the mayor to offer support, the White House said in a statement.
A couple told CBS News that they heard crashing noises coming from down the street and then saw a white truck slam through a barricade “at a high rate of speed”.
“A horrific act of violence took place on Bourbon Street earlier this morning,” the governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, said on X, urging people to stay away from the area where the attack took place.
The injured have been taken to at least five different hospitals, according to NOLA Ready, the city’s emergency preparedness department.
The incident occurred at the intersection of Canal and Bourbon Streets during New Year’s Eve celebrations, the New York Times reported .
New Orleans has seen shootings and cars colliding with crowds at past parades.
In November 2024, two people were killed and 10 others injured in two separate shootings along a New Orleans parade route and celebration attended by thousands, local media reported.
In February 2017, a pickup truck driven by a man who police said appeared to be highly intoxicated plowed into a crowd of spectators watching the main Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, injuring more than 20 people. – Reuters
