A man intentionally drove a pickup truck into a crowd of revelers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans early on New Year’s Day, killing 10 people and injuring dozens of others, officials said.
The attack is being investigated as an act of terrorism, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said.
The man driving the vehicle has been identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a U.S. citizen from Texas, the FBI said.
FBI special agent Alethea Duncan said in a news conference on Wednesday afternoon that a black ISIS flag had been flying from the truck’s rear bumper. The vehicle was a Ford pickup truck and appears to have been rented, the FBI said.
“We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible,” said Duncan. The FBI is working to determine the man’s potential affiliations or associations with terrorist associations. A person familiar with the investigation told CBS News that at this point, neither ISIS nor any other foreign terror organization has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The man drove around barricades and hurtled down Bourbon Street in “very intentional behavior,” New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said. Kirkpatrick said the man “was trying to run over as many people as he could.”
The man then exited the car and opened fire on officers, the FBI official said. He died after exchanging gunfire with responding officers, the FBI said. He was struck by police fire and declared dead at the scene, the New Orleans Police Department said. Two police officers were hit by gunfire but were in stable condition.
Weapons and potential improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, were located in the vehicle, Duncan said. Other potential IEDs were also located in the French Quarter. Two have been found and rendered safe, Duncan said.
FBI technicians are working with law enforcement to find any other devices and determine if they are viable. If they are found to be viable, the technicians and law enforcement will “work to render those devices safe,” the FBI said.
New Orleans Car Into Crowd
A long gun was recovered from the scene, law enforcement sources told CBS News. The long gun had a “suppressive device” on it that acted as a silencer, according to sources on the scene. Two sources familiar with the investigation told CBS News the man was wearing body armor.
A current and a former senior law enforcement source with direct knowledge of the investigation told CBS News the man rented an Airbnb in New Orleans’ La Roch neighborhood. A fire broke out at the Airbnb Wednesday. Investigators are examining if there is a link between the fire and the attack, the source said.
Duncan asked that anyone with information about the man contact the FBI. A U.S. official confirmed to CBS News that he had previously served in the U.S. military.
Officials react to “horrific act of violence”
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry called it “a horrific act of violence” and said he and his wife were “praying for all the victims and first responders on scene.” He urged people to avoid the area.
The popular tourist district was full of New Year’s Day revelers at the time of the apparent attack.
“He was hellbent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did,” Kirkpatrick said.
Witnesses told CBS News reporter Kati Weis that a white truck crashed into people on Bourbon Street at high speed, and the driver then started firing a weapon from inside the vehicle, with police returning fire. Weis saw multiple people on the ground being treated for injuries near the intersection of Bourbon and Canal Streets.
The City of New Orleans said in a statement posted online that 30 people were transported to area hospitals with injuries and 10 people were confirmed dead. Kirkpatrick later said that at least 35 people were hospitalized.
Duncan said the FBI will be leading the investigation. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Justice Department’s National Security Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana will work with the FBI and local officials to support the investigation, Attorney General Merrick Garland said.
President Biden was briefed about the attack, the White House said, and his administration has been in touch with Cantrell to offer support.
Biden said in a statement he has directed his administration 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.”
“My heart goes out to the victims and their families who were simply trying to celebrate the holiday,” Biden said. “There is no justification for violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation’s communities.”
President-elect Donald Trump also acknowledged the attack in a post on TruthSocial.
“Our hearts are with all of the innocent victims and their loved ones, including the brave officers of the New Orleans Police Department,” Trump said, in part.
Sugar Bowl postponed
The Sugar Bowl college football playoff game was set to be played at the nearby Superdome later Wednesday, but has been rescheduled for Thursday night.
Jeff Hundley, the Chief Executive Officer of the Sugar Bowl, announced the delay at Thursday’s news conference. More details about the rescheduled game will be available in the coming hours, he said.
“We live in the fun and games world, with what we do, but we certainly recognize the importance of this and we’re going to support it 100%,” Hundley said.
A student from University of Georgia, one of the teams playing in the game, was “critically injured” in the attack, according to a statement from the school on social media. The student was not identified.
Witnesses attempted to help victims
Jim and Nicole Mowrer were in New Orleans visiting from Iowa and witnessed the incident. The couple told CBS News they had watched the city’s fireworks display and were enjoying the New Year’s Day atmosphere in the French Quarter when they heard crashing noises coming from down the street.
They said they then saw a white truck slam through a barricade “at a high rate of speed,” followed by gunfire and police. The couple said the truck hit people about a block away from where they had been walking.
“Once the gunfire stopped, we stayed in the alcove until the gunfire stopped, came out into the street, and came across a lot of — several people who had been hit, [we] wanted to see what we could do to help,” Nicole Mowrer said. She said the couple found the victims had died.
The Mowrers said the victims they saw had injuries from the truck impact, and they did not see any apparent gunshot wounds. They said they left the area once emergency responders started arriving.
In a 2017 memo reviewed by CBS News, the city of New Orleans had acknowledged the risk of a mass casualty incident in the crowded, tourist-friendly French Quarter. The memo specifically referenced vehicle attacks in Nice, France, London, England and New York City.
To minimize risk, the city said it planned to establish a camera and surveillance program, a centralized command center, more police patrols and infrastructure upgrades. The city had been in the process of upgrading the pedestrian bollard system in the French Quarter to modernize and bolster protections, with work ongoing through February.
Reporter by CBS News
