The FBI assistant special agent in charge who told the media and public that the New Orleans attack was “not a terrorist incident” has been reappointed, Fox News has learned.
Multiple sources tell Fox News that FBI Assistant Special Agent Alecia Duncan was temporarily reassigned after saying at her initial press conference that “this is not a terrorist incident.” That's what it means.
It was terrorism.
After the initial reporter, the FBI released a statement using the word “terrorism.” Attorney General Merrick Garland and President Biden also used the word “terrorism” in their statements.
No other details about Duncan's new role were disclosed, but she remains with the FBI.
The FBI declined to comment.
Authorities say 42-year-old Shamsuddin Jabbar plowed his truck into a crowd of New Year's celebrants on Bourbon Street, killing 14 people and injuring dozens more, when the truck was hit by an ISIS gun. It is said that it was carrying flags of After pushing his way through the crowd, he jumped out of his truck and began firing at local police officers, who fired back and killed him.
Jabbar was pronounced dead at the scene.
The FBI said Jabbar bought two coolers, which he later used to hide an IED on Bourbon Street, and drove from his hometown of Houston to New Orleans on Dec. 31 to carry out his planned attack. It is said that he moved there.
Hours after chaos erupted on Bourbon Street on New Year's Day, Mr. Duncan declared at a news conference that the attack was not related to terrorism.
“We are taking over the investigative direction of this incident. This is not a terrorist incident,” Duncan said at a news conference.
However, at the same press conference, the mayor of New Orleans told the media and public that the city had indeed suffered a terrorist attack.
“Please know that the city of New Orleans was affected by a terrorist attack. Everything is still under investigation,” Mayor LaToya Cantrell, a Democrat who has held the position since 2018, told reporters.
The FBI previously told FOX News Digital that three different statements were released by the FBI on the day of the attack.
Duncan also said at a subsequent press conference that the attack was being investigated as an act of terrorism.
Fox News Digital's Michael Ruiz and Emma Colton contributed to this report.
