A man intentionally drove a pickup truck into a crowd of revelers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans' French Quarter early on New Year's Day, killing at least 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 an electric Ford pickup truck and appears to have been rented, the FBI said.
Duncan said investigators "do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible" for the attack, and the FBI believes he may have had help carrying it out. Duncan said that the FBI is looking at a "range of suspects" and does "not want to rule anything out" at this stage of the investigation. The FBI is also 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 up onto the sidewalk of Bourbon Street, New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said, avoiding barriers that had been placed by police. Kirkpatrick said the man "was trying to run over as many people as he could."
"We had a car there, we had barriers there, we had officers there, and he still got around," Kirkpatrick said.
The man then exited the car and opened fire on officers, the FBI official said. He died after exchanging gunfire with three 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 two potential improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, were located in the vehicle, Duncan said. At least one other IED was found in the French Quarter, and was detonated by law enforcement, a person familiar with the investigation said. The number of IEDs left behind is a large part of why the FBI believes the man may have had an accomplice, sources tell CBS News. Investigators are combing through video to see if there were accomplices involved in placing the devices, sources told CBS News.
Further sweeps by law enforcement did not find any more IEDs, Duncan said. Kirkpatrick said police walked the area as a grid, looking for any suspicious items. Anyone who sees anything suspicious should contact officials, Duncan said.
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. A fire broke out at the Airbnb Wednesday, and investigators are examining if there is a link between the blaze and the attack, the source said. Residents in the area have been evacuated.
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.
The deceased attacker was wearing body armor, two sources familiar with the investigation told CBS News. A long gun "with a suppressive device" on it that acted as a silencer was recovered from the scene, law enforcement sources said.
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. A fire broke out at the Airbnb Wednesday, and investigators are examining if there is a link between the blaze and the attack, the source said.
According to records obtained by CBS News, Jabbar was a resident of Houston. A spokesperson for Georgia State University told CBS News that the attacker attended the university from 2015 to 2017 and graduated with a B.B.A. in Computer Information Systems.
He had a hunting and fishing license and appears to have had a real estate license that expired in 2021. He also had prior brushes with the law, including theft and driving without a license.
Jabbar was divorced in 2020, according to court records obtained by CBS News, and his wife at the time had filed a temporary restraining order for her and their children's safety.
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 taken to 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 rescheduledfor Thursday night. Kirkpatrick said bomb sweeps have been conducted at the Superdome, and said the stadium would be locked down until the game.
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.
Pat Milton, Andres Triay, Nicole Sganga, Anna Schecter and Robert Legare contributed to this report.
