The Federal Bureau of Investigation has verified that the individual behind the attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans acted alone, confirming his status as a lone-wolf terrorist. FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia, from the agency’s Counterterrorism Division, disclosed at a recent press conference that Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, a U.S. citizen and former military member from Texas, was solely responsible for the incident.
The investigation into the tragic attack, which occurred on New Year’s Day, has been exhaustive. The event resulted in fourteen fatalities and thirty-five injuries, following Jabbar’s assault with a rented truck on pedestrians before he started shooting. The attacker’s rental vehicle was sourced from Houston, and videos he posted en route to New Orleans suggested support for ISIS. In the course of the investigation, three phones and an ISIS flag were discovered in the truck.
Raia emphasized the lack of evidence indicating external assistance in the planning or execution of the attack, stating, “There is just nothing to indicate — through call records, through anything on those devices, through interviews, through anything in our systems — that he was aided in this attack by anyone.” Full details of Raia’s statement can be accessed in the FBI updates.
In addition to assessing the violent incident at Bourbon Street, authorities are examining two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) dismantled at nearby intersections, with surveillance capturing Jabbar placing them. Two other suspicious items at the scene were deemed non-explosive.
Across the country, another incident is under scrutiny: a Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas. While both cases are under investigation, the FBI has reported that as of now, there is “no definitive link” connecting the New Orleans attack with the Las Vegas explosion.
For further details on the ongoing investigation, the full report is available on JURIST. The FBI continues to request any information related to these events, urging the public to come forward with relevant details.