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At least 15 people were killed and over 35 injured after a pick-up truck ploughed into a crowded market in New Orleans on New Year’s Day.
The suspect, identified by the FBI as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, drove a white Ford truck into the crowd on New Orleans’s famous Bourbon Street early Wednesday morning. The FBI, which has taken operational command of the investigation, said that they are treating the attack as an ‘act of terrorism’.
Law enforcement officials told that Jabbar was later killed in a firefight with police and they are looking for his possible accomplices in the attack.
The attack prompted the postponement of a college football playoff quarterfinal at the nearby Superdome until Thursday.
President Joe Biden condemned the attack and extended condolences to the victims’ families, stating, “There is no justification for violence of any kind.” He pledged federal support for the investigation and recovery efforts.
In the early hours of New Year’s Day, at around 3:15 am, a pickup truck drove into crowd at high speed at the intersection of Canal and Bourbon Street in a part of the New Orleans’ tourist district known as the French Quarter, with media reporting the driver later fired a gun.
“The 8th District is currently working a mass casualty incident involving a vehicle that drove into a large crowd on Canal and Bourbon Street. There are 30 injured patients that have been transported by NOEMS and 10 fatalities. Public safety partners are responding on scene,” New Orleans’ disaster preparedness agency, Nola Ready, said in a statement on it’s website.
The New Orleans mayor, LaToya Cantrell, has said the city was “impacted by a terrorist attack” and that the incident is still under investigation, according to CNN.
New Orleans City Councilmember Helena Moreno told WWL-TV that after being briefed on the attack, she understands “there is a potential that other suspects could be involved in this, and it’s all hands on deck in determining who these individuals are and finding them.”
The area is a prime New Year’s Eve destination, and tens of thousands of college football fans were in the city for the Sugar Bowl playoff quarterfinal between Georgia and Notre Dame, originally scheduled for Wednesday evening.
Law enforcement identified Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old Texas resident and US citizen, as the driver responsible for the New Orleans attack. Jabbar drove a rental white Ford truck into Louisiana and carried out the attack before being fatally shot by police during an exchange of gunfire.
The FBI is treating the incident as a terrorist act, adding that they do not believe Jabbar acted alone. Four explosive devices and a long gun were found in his truck, which also displayed a black ISIS flag. Jabbar’s Airbnb rental is under investigation for additional threats or evidence.
New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick, speaking at a news conference Wednesday morning, described the attack as deliberate and devastating. “It was very intentional behavior. This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could. He was hellbent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did,” she said.
Both CBS News and CNN reported that witnesses claimed the driver had also fired a gun during the incident.
Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, stated that authorities were investigating the discovery of at least one suspected improvised explosive device at the scene.
Officials have advised the public to avoid the area spanning from Bourbon Street to St. Ann. “We do not want anyone on Bourbon Street today,” Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said, adding that the FBI has taken over the investigation.
Kirkpatrick also reported that two police officers had been shot and were in stable condition at a local hospital. No details about the suspect were provided. She noted that most of the injured are believed to be local residents rather than tourists.
“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.”
“A horrific act of violence took place on Bourbon Street earlier this morning. Please join Sharon and I in praying for all the victims and first responders on scene. I urge all near the scene to avoid the area,” Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry posted on X.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell called the incident “a terrorist attack.”
US President Joe Biden has been briefed on the incident, the White House said in a statement. It added that the president has been in touch with New Orleans mayor.
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