Federal authorities have released new details about the short-term rental fire that Bourbon Street terrorist Shamsuddin Jabbar set alight shortly before killing 14 people at a New Year's celebration in New Orleans.
In a statement released Sunday, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) announced that a national response team had completed an investigation of the Mandeville Street residence that Jabbar was renting. They determined that Jabbar started the fire at the house around 12:15 a.m., about four hours before the attack in the French Quarter.
“Just before leaving, Jabbar used an open flame (match) to start the fire,” ATF said. “The fire started in the linen closet next to the washer and dryer, which is a restricted area in the hallway leading to other rooms in the home.”
The perpetrators also installed accelerators in other rooms, which the ATF said were intended to “conceal evidence of a crime.” However, authorities noted that the fire eventually died out on its own.
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Federal authorities have released new details about evidence recovered from the short-term rental that Shamsud Din Jabbar rented shortly before the Bourbon Street attack. (Fox News Digital)
“As the temperature within the home continued to rise, the Nest's thermostat switched from heating mode to cooling mode, confirming that the fire was still spreading,” ATF said.
“Ultimately, the fire died out on its own due to the lack of oxygen and fuel in this enclosed area of the home and was not connected to accelerants placed in other rooms.”
At approximately 5:18 a.m., an hour after the Bourbon Street attack and an hour after Jabbar's death, a neighbor called 911 to report the smell of smoke near the residence.
“New Orleans Fire Department responded and extinguished the smoldering fire and notified law enforcement as evidence was found inside the residence,” the statement added. “ATF and FBI have secured the location at this point.”
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The FBI previously said the smoldering fire allowed investigators to recover evidence from the rental home, including “precursors of bomb-making materials and a privately made device that appeared to be a rifle silencer.”
ATF said in a statement Sunday that it was determined that Jabbar had purchased one of the rifles used in the attack on Nov. 19 from an individual in Texas. Sellers told the ATF that he did not know Jabbar personally and was unaware of his extremist beliefs. .
Investigators also found traces of the explosive RDX (cyclotrimethylene trinitramine) in the rental home. But officials said it was a sign of inexperience that Mr. Jabbar made the grave mistake of choosing an explosive that was designed to be ignited with a detonator, and instead used an electric match to ignite the explosive. he pointed out.
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The FBI has released photos of surveillance footage that clearly shows Shamsuddin Jabbar driving his truck down Bourbon Street in New Orleans in the early morning hours of January 1, 2025. (Federal Bureau of Investigation, via Associated Press)
The agency concluded that “Jabbar used a suitable explosive for a detonator, but was unable to obtain one, so he used an electric match to ignite the explosive.'' “Jabbar's inexperience and shoddy assembly of the device is why he used the wrong device to detonate the explosives.”
Fox News Digital's Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
