The suspect in the deadly New Orleans attack on New Year’s Day “proclaimed his support for ISIS” and made chilling threats to kill his family in videos recorded ahead of the massacre, the FBI confirmed.
Christopher Raia, the FBI’s deputy assistant director of its counter-terrorism division, said at a press conference on Thursday, January 2 that they are reviewing disturbing videos of the suspect, 42-year-old Army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar, where he discussed plans to kill his family in recordings made before the attack.
New Year’s celebrations in New Orleans ended in tragedy when the suspected terrorist drove into a crowd of revellers, killing at least 14 innocent people and injuring more than 30 others. The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene after a shoot-out with police.
Raia shared a timeline of the suspect’s movements before carrying out the attack, detailing how he planted two IED devices in coolers in the bustling area before he rammed into the crowd in a pickup truck on Bourbon Street at around 3:15 a.m.
Man who k!lled 14 in New Orleans new year attack discussed plans to k!ll his family and join ISIS in chilling recordings
The FBI in its statement confirmed he had an ISIS flag in his truck as he plowed into the crowd.
Raia said there was “no definitive link” between the New Orleans attack and the Tesla Cybertruck blast in Las Vegas after earlier reports that investigators were probing a possible connection. He also updated that investigators no longer believe the suspect had accomplices.
The suspect, 42-year-old Shamsud Din Jabbar, was a U.S. citizen from Texas who was “100 percent inspired by ISIS,” Raia told the press conference on Thursday, adding that Jabbar said in video footage that he joined the terror group before this summer.
A timeline of the suspect’s whereabouts was given by Raia at the press conference, where he confirmed Jabbar collected the rented pickup truck on December 30 and drove from his home in Houston, Texas on the evening of December 31 to New Orleans in Louisiana.
Sometime between New Year’s Eve and the early hours of New Year’s Day, the suspect planted two IED devices in coolers which were both functional. They were later rendered safe, Raia confirmed.
The suspect exhibited “very intentional behaviour” when he ploughed into the crowd on Canal and Bourbon Street, New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said at a press conference
“This man was trying to run over as many people as he could,” she said.
This particular terrorist drove around onto the sidewalk and got around the hard target. We did have a car there. We had barriers there. We had officers there. And they still got around,” she said later in the day.
After crashing into the crowd, he exited his vehicle and fired at police officers, striking two. Both officers are in stable condition, Kirkpatrick said.
Law enforcement returned fire and the suspect was pronounced deceased at the scene, the FBI said.
FBI Investigators on Thursday said they are reviewing a series of disturbing footage where the suspect revealed plans to kill his family and “proclaimed his support for ISIS”, Raia confirmed at the press conference.
The footage was filmed at night while the suspect was driving from his home in Houston to New Orleans.
Videos were time-stamped at 1:29 a.m. and again at 3:02 a.m. on January 1, Raia said. In the footage, Jabbar explained how he originally planned to harm his family and friends, but worried the news headlines would not focus on the “war between the believers and disbelievers,” Raia added.
In the videos Jabbar referred to dreams that he had about becoming inspired to join the terror group, officials told CNN.
According to ABC News, Jabbar served in human resources and information technology roles in the Army from 2007 to 2015, during which he deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010.
He continued to work as an IT specialist in the Army Reserve from 2015 to 2020, the spokesperson said. His listed jobs were not direct combat roles.
Jabbar was honourably discharged from the Army after he was caught drunk-driving on base, the Washington Post reported. He was charged in February 2015 and pleaded guilty.
The suspect had earlier enlisted in the Navy, in August 2024, though he never went to boot camp and was discharged from the delayed entry program one month later, according to a Navy spokesperson.
In a resurfaced YouTube video posted in 2020, Jabbar says he was born and raised in Beaumont, Texas, and spent a decade working in the U.S. military before becoming a Realtor in the Houston area.