Authorities say U.S. Army veteran Shamsuddin Jabbar was at his rented New Orleans home before plowing his pickup truck into a New Year's crowd, according to an FBI statement containing the most complete account of the incident yet. It was confirmed that bomb-making materials had been found.
The statement said investigators recovered two bomb transmitters from Jabbar's rental truck, confirming previous media reports.
Emergency management officials briefed on the firefighters' observations said firefighters found gas cans, training equipment, other tools and suspicious materials at Jabbar's rented New Orleans home before the attack. He said he discovered. The FBI said Jabbar started a small fire in the hallway and tried to burn down the house by placing an accelerant to spread the fire. The blaze was out before firefighters arrived.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms determined that Jabbar was the only person who would have had access to the mansion on Mandeville Street in New Orleans at the time of the arson.
When federal authorities searched Jabbar's Houston home, they found a workbench and hazardous materials believed to be used to make explosives in the garage, according to law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation. The officials were not authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The FBI investigation also revealed that Jabbar bought a cooler in Vidor, Texas, and gun oil at a store in Sulphur, Louisiana, hours before the attack, officials said. Authorities also determined that Jabbar had booked a pickup truck rental on Nov. 14, suggesting he may have been planning the attack for more than six weeks.
Authorities said 14 people were killed and about 30 injured in the attack by Jabar, a former army soldier who posted messages on social media saying he was inspired by the Islamic State group.
Mr. Jabbar, 42, was shot and killed in a gunfight with police at the scene of a fatal accident on Bourbon Street, a world-renowned street in New Orleans' historic French Quarter.
Authorities discovered a crude bomb planted in the neighborhood with the intention of causing further carnage. Officials said two improvised explosive devices left in a cooler several blocks away were made safe at the scene. Other devices have been determined to be non-functional.
Authorities are still investigating Jabbar's motives and how he carried out the attack. Police said the man, wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet, got out of the crashed truck and fired at police, injuring at least two officers before he was shot and killed by officers who returned fire.
Citing the active investigation, New Orleans police would not say how many shots were fired by Jabbar and police or whether any bystanders may have been injured.
Stella Cimento, director of the city's Independent Police Oversight Office, said investigators were working to determine “every single bullet that was fired” and whether it hit people by the area.
“Even if a bullet goes into the side of a building or a door or a car, they're going to try to locate that bullet,” Cimento told The Associated Press.
The FBI said authorities said Jabbar was not assisted by anyone else in the attack that killed an 18-year-old aspiring nurse, single mother, father of two and former Princeton University football player. Even after reaching their conclusion, they continued to search for clues about Mr. Jabbar. , among others.
The FBI said that in the hours before the attack, Jabbar posted five videos to his Facebook account in which he expressed support for the Islamic State group and soon appeared in the French Quarter. It is said that he foretold the violent acts that were to take place.
It was the deadliest Islamic State-inspired attack on U.S. soil in years and exposed a resurgence of the international terrorism threat that federal officials have been warning of.
Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said the military's criminal investigation division is working with the FBI to provide records and investigate how Mr. Jabbar was radicalized. Mr. Jabbar joined the Army in 2007, transferred to the Army Reserve in 2015, and retired in 2020 with the rank of sergeant.
