At least 15 people were killed after a US army veteran who had expressed a “desire to kill” drove a pick-up truck into crowds of people celebrating New Year in New Orleans before he was fatally shot dead by police.
The FBI said it is investigating the attack in the early hours of Wednesday on the famous Bourbon Street as a terrorist act and does not believe the driver acted alone.
Multiple improvised explosive devices – including two pipe bombs hidden inside coolers and wired for remote detonation – were found in the vehicle and elsewhere in the city’s French Quarter.
All devices have been made safe, according to Louisiana State Police
The suspect – identified by the FBI as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a US citizen from Texas, had driven around safety measures in place to protect pedestrians.
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He was fatally shot after getting out of the rented pick-up truck and opening fire on responding police officers, New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said.
Two officers were also injured in the gun battle and more than 30 people were injured in the attack.
‘Desire to kill’
Addressing the nation on Wednesday night, President Joe Biden said Jabbar had posted a video on social media indicating he had been influenced by Islamic State (IS).
He said the man had expressed a “desire to kill”, adding that: “Our nation grieves with you.”
Associated Press, citing an intelligence bulletin, said the suspect was wearing a ballistic vest and helmet. The flag of the IS group was also found on the vehicle’s trailer hitch, the FBI said.
A handgun and an AR-style rifle were also recovered.
Law enforcement also closed off a road leading to a property in Houston, Texas, which is thought to be associated with the suspect.
Images showed a bomb disposal robot and SWAT officers at the scene.
Jabbar served in human resources and IT roles in the US army between 2007 and 2015.
He was deployed to Afghanistan between 2009 and 2010, before moving to the reserves from 2015 to 2020.
US authorities are also investigating whether the attack has any connection to a Tesla cybertruck which exploded outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas.
Sky News’ US partner network NBC News reported that authorities are examining a “possible military connection” between the two suspects, and are already looking into the fact both men used the Turo car app to rent the vehicles used in both incidents.
Sources familiar with the investigation told NBC News the driver of the cybertruck had previous military experience – although they stressed that the investigation is still unfolding.
Some of the victims of the attack have been identified.
Read more:
First victims named
What more do we know about suspect?
New Orleans eyewitnesses describe carnage
New Year’s carnage haunts New Orleans – but ‘Big Easy’ has suffered before
Among them were 18-year-old aspiring nurse Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux, Princeton graduate Tiger Bech, 27.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry has urged people to avoid the area, which remains an active crime scene with a large part of Bourbon Street cordoned off.
The FBI has repeatedly warned about a heightened terrorism threat due to the Israel-Hamas war.
