By Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — An armed driver brought carnage on New Orleans’ famed French Quarter early on New Year’s Day, killing 10 people as he rammed a pickup truck into a crowd before being shot to death by police, authorities said.
More than 30 people were injured as Wednesday’s attack turned festive Bourbon Street into macabre mayhem. The FBI is investigating it as an act of terrorism and said it does not believe the driver acted alone. An Islamic State group flag was found on the vehicle’s trailer hitch, the FBI said.
Investigators also found guns and pipe bombs, which were concealed within coolers, according to a Louisiana State Police intelligence bulletin obtained by The Associated Press. Both devices were wired for remote detonation, and a corresponding remote control was discovered inside the suspect’s truck, the bulletin said.
The FBI identified the driver as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a U.S. citizen from Texas and said it is working to determine Jabbar’s potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations.
“We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible,” Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, said at a news conference.
A photo circulated among law enforcement officials showed a bearded Jabbar wearing camouflage next to the truck after he was killed. The attack happened around 3:15 a.m. in an area teeming with New Year’s revelers.
Investigators recovered a handgun and an AR-style rifle after the shootout, a law enforcement official said. The official was not authorized to discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The FBI said a potential improvised explosive device was located in the vehicle and other potential explosive devices were also located in the French Quarter.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell described the killings as a “terrorist attack.”
New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said the driver was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did.”
“It was very intentional behavior. This man was trying to run over as many people as he could,” Kirkpatrick said.
New Orleans city councilmember Helena Moreno told WWL-TV that after being briefed on the attack, she understands that “there is a potential that other suspects could be involved in this and all hands on deck on 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 Wednesday night’s Sugar Bowl playoff quarterfinal between Georgia and Notre Dame at the nearby Superdome.
President Joe Biden says he’s in touch with federal and state officials to get the “bare facts” after a driver rammed a truck into a crowd of people in New Orleans’ French Quarter early New Year’s Day, killing 10 and injuring dozens. Biden says his reaction is one of “anger and frustration.”
A photo circulated among law enforcement officials showed a bearded Jabbar wearing camouflage next to the truck after he was killed by police.
Louisiana’s governor says people should stay away from the French Quarter because of the investigation into the deadly attack by a pickup driver that killed 10 people.
Gov. Jeff Landry posted on the social media platform X that authorities face “a fluid situation” as they investigate.
Landry posted, “We recognize that there are tourists around us, and we urge all to avoid the French Quarter as this is an active investigation.”
The Superdome, set to host a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game between Georgia and Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl on Wednesday night, is on lockdown for security sweeps.
People with offices in the Superdome — including officials with the Sugar Bowl and Sun Belt Conference — were told not to come into work until further notice.
However, there was no immediate word that the Sugar Bowl, scheduled to kick off at 7:45 p.m., might be delayed.
