New Orleans attack: Terror suspect used bomb materials never seen in US as police probe how he got them
Police investigated the materials used in the devices near the Bourbon Street attack
The terror suspect in the New Orleans rampage that killed 14 people and injured dozens reportedly used materials to make explosives that have never been used in a U.S. attack.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen from Texas, used an extremely rare explosive compound that had never been seen before in any incidents in the U.S. or Europe, NBC News reported.
Jabbar planned to detonate two explosives that he had placed on Bourbon Street, FBI and ATF officials said in a joint statement Friday. He intended to use a transmitter, which was found in his vehicle, to ignite the bombs but ultimately did not.
It’s not immediately clear how or where he learned to make such an explosive. It’s yet another question for the FBI, which is also reportedly looking into Jabbar’s travel, including a trip to Egypt.
The federal agency was also trying to determine whether he became radicalized during his trip, ABC News reported.
Authorities recovered an ISIS flag from inside his vehicle.
“This next most important phase of the investigation is to find out how that radicalization happened and if it happened on that trip,” Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams told the network.
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FBI says it has received almost 1,000 tips in 48 hours since New Orleans attack
The FBI says it has received almost 1,000 tips in 48 hours, as it continues to investigate the tragic incident in New Orleans on New Year’s Day, which left 14 people dead and dozens wounded.
“Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) personnel from across the country continue to work diligently to further this investigation and evaluate evidence, interview victims and witnesses, and analyze tips related to the New Orleans Bourbon Street attack,” the bureau said in a statement on Friday.
“Two days into the investigation, the FBI has received almost 1,000 tips, and leads have been sent to FBI Field Offices across the country for investigation.”
Number of injured expected to rise in coming days says FBI
The FBI said it expects the number of people reported injured in the New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans to continue to rise in the coming days, as investigations continue into the tragic event.
“As of January 3, the FBI has identified 35 known injured individuals,” the bureau said in a statement on Friday. “The number of injured is expected to rise in the coming days as additional people either take themselves to hospitals with injuries or ask for assistance from the FBI.”
Watch: New Orleans attack witness describes terrifying moment truck headed towards him
Authorities are investigating suspect’s foreign travel: report
The FBI is investigating the travel history of Shamsud-Din Jabbar, including his month-long solo trip to Egypt in 2023, ABC News reported.
As part of its investigation, the federal agency is trying to determine what he did in the country, who he interacted with and whether he became radicalized during his trip or prior to it, the outlet reported.
Authorities recovered an ISIS flag from inside his vehicle.
“This next most important phase of the investigation is to find out how that radicalization happened and if it happened on that trip,” Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams told the network.
Did New Orleans fail to secure area of truck attack?
New Orleans officials are promising the city is safe as they prepare for today’s Sugar Bowl and the Super Bowl next month. But planning for those events might have allowed a suspected terrorist to rampage through the city’s most popular area.
A series of barricades designed to prevent cars from driving down parts of Bourbon Street had been removed and were not in place when an attacker sped into the French Quarter and killed at least 14 people in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day.
Those “bollards” — installed as part of a years-long security plan for the tourist-heavy neighborhood — were intended to block that exact type of attack from happening.
But they were in the middle of being replaced in time for the city to host February’s Super Bowl LIX, which falls in the middle of a busy Carnival season calendar leading up to Mardi Gras day on March 4.
Alex Woodward reports.
New Orleans readies for Sugar and Super bowls. Its prep work might have cost lives
British national among the 14 killed, authorities say
A British man has been confirmed as one of those killed in a deadly New Year’s Day vehicle attack in New Orleans.
Metropolitan Police confirmed they were supporting the family of Edward Pettifer, 31, of Chelsea, who was killed in the attack in Bourbon Street.
Authorities have confirmed at least 14 people died and least 39 others were injured when a man in a pick-up truck plowed through crowds before he was gunned down by police.
Pettifer’s family said in a statement: “The entire family are devastated at the tragic news of Ed‘s death in New Orleans. He was a wonderful son, brother, grandson, nephew and a friend to so many.
Read the full story.
British man among 14 killed in New Orleans attack
FBI concerned about copycat incidents after New Orleans terror attack, report
U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies are reportedly concerned about copycat vehicle-ramming attacks following the attack in New Orleans.
The FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center “are concerned about possible copycat or retaliatory attacks,” according to a bulletin seen by Reuters.
Such attacks “are likely to remain attractive for aspiring assailants given vehicles’ ease of acquisition and the low skill threshold necessary to conduct an attack”, the bulletin said.
The bulletin was issued a day after the FBI said the attacker Shamsud-Din JabbarJabbar was “100 percent inspired” by ISIS. 14 innocent people were killed in the attack and dozens more were injured.
‘My anxiety is at an all-time high’: Workers return to Bourbon Street
Less than 36 hours after a massacre at the gateway to the French Quarter, New Orleans officials reopened Bourbon Street, now heavily guarded with military police, fresh barricades and 14 roses to mark the 14 people who were killed in what law enforcement officials have labeled an act of terror.
Authorities removed the remaining bodies and swept blood from the sidewalks and streets beginning at 2 a.m. Thursday. Deliveries to the street’s bars and restaurants resumed a few hours later.
Several blocks of Bourbon and surrounding streets had been blocked off, businesses were closed and residents living in the footprint of an active crime scene were navigating police tape and barricades after a driver plowed a pickup truck into a crowd shortly after 3 a.m. Wednesday.
Thousands of workers — still checking on the safety of friends and colleagues — are now returning to the bars, restaurants, music venues, hotels, gift shops and other businesses that keep the city’s tourism economy running.
Bourbon reopens hours after blood cleaned from the streets. Workers are conflicted
How much of a threat does ISIS pose to U.S.?
The New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans that killed at least 14 people and injured 30 more has reignited fears about the terror threat posed by ISIS in the U.S. following years of relative quiet.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. Army veteran, has been named by authorities as the suspect. He carried an ISIS flag on the vehicle used to mow down pedestrians.
Addressing the nation following the attack, President Joe Biden said Jabbar posted videos to social media “indicating he was inspired by ISIS, expressing a desire to kill.”
But how much of a threat does the extremist Islamist militant group pose to Americans today?
Richard Hall reports.
The New Orleans attacker was inspired by ISIS. Is the group a threat in the US?
Cybertruck bomber left chilling notes saying U.S. is ‘headed toward collapse’ and explosion was a ‘wake up call’
Matthew Livelsberger, the Green Beret who died in the Las Vegas Cybertruck explosion, left behind a note describing the incident as a “stunt” to serve as a “wake up call” for the country.
The shocking incident occurred just hours after the deadly terror attack in New Orleans in the early hours of New year’s Day. However, on Friday, investigators ruled out a connection between the two incidents.
Kelly Rissman has more:
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