Fifteen individuals lost their lives and a minimum of 35 others sustained injuries following an incident believed to have been motivated by the actions of a particular individual.
A tragedy unfolded in the early hours of New Year’s Day in New Orleans, Louisiana, as a suspect drove into large crowds, causing chaos and devastation. The individual responsible for this horrific incident, later killed in a police shootout, has been identified as…
An individual hailing from the state of Texas, who happened to be a US citizen, tragically lost his life in a confrontation with law enforcement officers.
According to the New York Times, the FBI is currently investigating the recent attack on Bourbon Street as an act of “terrorism.” It is believed that the driver did not act alone in this assault on one of the nation’s most popular tourist destinations. President Biden stated that the army veteran who drove a pickup truck into New Year’s revelers was “inspired by” the Islamic State terrorist organization.
New Orleans attacker ‘pledged allegiance to ISIS’
According to President Biden, the attacker in New Orleans expressed his “desire to kill” in videos shared on social media prior to the attack. Law enforcement officials, speaking anonymously, revealed that the suspect also pledged allegiance to ISIS in some of these videos and was seen driving in others.
According to an anonymous law enforcement official, the suspect had allegedly expressed his support for ISIS in multiple videos shared on his Facebook page the evening prior to the attack. The videos, which were directed towards his family, depicted him driving.
“He possessed a natural flair for innovation and creativity.”
According to police commissioner Anne Kirkpatrick, the man’s behavior was highly intentional, as he tried to run over as many people as possible. She stated, “It was very intentional behavior.” Additionally, she mentioned that two police officers were shot after the driver emerged from the truck, but they are now in stable condition.
Officials in New Orleans have acknowledged that the city’s security precautions failed to prevent the recent attack, sparking concerns about the effectiveness of their measures.
What we know about New Orleans attacker:
The suspect, a 42-year-old individual,
A high-speed truck was driven into crowds by Jabbar, who then crashed and engaged in a shootout with three police officers around 3:15 a.m., according to authorities.
Jabbar had served nearly eight years in the Army, including a deployment to Afghanistan, and received an honorable discharge.
Jabbar, as stated in a LinkedIn profile that has since been removed, had held multiple positions within the US Army, including roles in human resources and IT, prior to his discharge. He served in Afghanistan between February 2009 and January 2010, as reported by the BBC.
According to an article by NYT, the ex-husband of his former wife mentioned that he recently embraced Islam and his behavior became unpredictable.
Authorities discovered an Islamic State flag, weapons, and a potential explosive device in the truck that he allegedly used for the attack.
Authorities discovered suspected improvised explosive devices in the vicinity, along with the recovery of a long gun equipped with a “suppressive device” functioning as a silencer.
Turo, a peer-to-peer rental app, confirmed that the trucks involved in the New Orleans attack and the Las Vegas explosion were rented through their platform.
President Biden stated that investigators are currently examining any potential links between the terrorist attack in New Orleans and the detonation of a Tesla Cybertruck outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas. However, no connection between these two incidents has been found thus far.
