Federal authorities investigating the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) sympathizer who carried out the Bourbon Street attack on New Year's Day in New Orleans say they are continuing to investigate his potential collaborators in the United States and abroad.
FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) officials said at a news conference that they were pursuing leads in Houston, Atlanta and Tampa, Florida. The suspect, Shamsud Din Jabbar, had visited New Orleans twice in the months before the attack, on one occasion wearing smart glasses while riding his bike down Bourbon Street and around the French Quarter. (ostensibly, officials said) in preparation for the attack he carried out, killing 14 people and injuring dozens more.
“All of the details of the investigation and the evidence continue to support that Jabbar acted alone here in New Orleans,” FBI Deputy Director of Counterterrorism Christopher Reier told reporters. Although there is no indication of an accomplice within the United States, we continue to investigate possible accomplices within the United States and outside our borders. ”
Mr Raia went on to reveal the itinerary of several trips taken by Mr Jabbar, 42, before the fatal attack, including his final destination.
According to Raia, Jabbar visited Egypt's capital Cairo from June 22 to July 3 in 2023. He then flew to Canada on July 10 and returned to the United States three days later.
And in 2024, Jabbar visited New Orleans at least twice. The first time was in October and the second time was in November. Laia said Jabbar had been staying in a rented house in New Orleans since Oct. 30, when the city celebrated Halloween, and was in the city for at least two days during that time.
“Jabbar used Metagras to record a video while riding his bike through the French Quarter,” Laia said. “Video showed Jabbar wearing meta glasses during the trip in October. As we continue to learn more about that trip, we are looking forward to seeing or interacting with him. We urge you to contact us now to find out more.”
One video clip released by the FBI shows Jabbar riding up to Bourbon during the day on an unspecified date. He was killed in a shootout with police during the attack, about a block away from what would later become a construction boom.
Other footage shows him driving down Canal Street, about two blocks across the street from the Bourbon Street entrance, before launching his attack there, bypassing a police cruiser blocking the road. It is being shown.
Yet another clip showed Jabbar recording a video wearing glasses. In the clip, he was wearing a T-shirt with the words “It all starts with VMWare vSphere” as he looked at himself in a mirror inside his house. This is clearly a reference to cloud computing virtualization platforms.
Raia added that during the night of the attack, Jabbar was wearing glasses that allow users to take photos and videos, as well as broadcast live, hands-free. However, Mr. Jabbar did not activate his glasses to livestream the attack, Mr. Raia did not elaborate.
The incident was just the latest, ominous revelation that yet another big tech company's technology was being weaponized. Officials said Jabbar obtained a short-term rental and stayed there for the final hours before attacking the Airbnb platform. And officials said he borrowed the truck used in the attack on the Touro platform.
Meanwhile, the military said Jabbar and Matthew Libersberger, a decorated Special Forces soldier who was killed in an apparent suicide car bombing at the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year's Day, served with a military branch in Afghanistan for about seven months. announced information indicating that Starting May 2009.
At the time, Mr. Libersberger was assigned to the 10th Special Forces Group, and Mr. Jabbar was a human resources specialist.
Jabbar and Libersberger also served at Fort Bragg in North Carolina for about 10 months starting in December 2012, the branch said in a statement.
Mr. Libersberger borrowed the car used in the Las Vegas explosion from Touro. Despite the coincidences, Raia said earlier this week that “at this time there is no definitive connection between the attack here in New Orleans and the attack in Las Vegas.”
Journalist Steve Herman published the following paper on Sunday: screenshot In response to the incidents in New Orleans and Las Vegas, U.S. Army Northern Command has increased security measures at all military installations, including 100% ID checks, unannounced inspections, and the suspension of the so-called Trusted Traveler program. An alert was issued with instructions to take immediate action.
On Sunday, authorities released details of Jabbar's movements on the day of the attack.
Raia said investigators believe Jabbar crossed into Louisiana from Texas around 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 31. Police said the man rented a car and was seen again around 9 p.m. in Gonzales, Louisiana, less than an hour's drive west of New Orleans.
By 10 p.m., Jabbar was seen on video unloading a white pickup truck in New Orleans outside a rental home in the St. Roch neighborhood, about three miles off Bourbon Street.
At 12:41 a.m., Jabbar parked his truck and walked from the 1200 block of Bourbon to Royal and Governor Nichols streets, one block away toward the Mississippi River. He hid the first of two homemade bombs, designed to be detonated by remote control, inside a cooler in the approximately 600 block of Bourbon Street at 1:53 a.m.
Federal authorities say a person on Bourbon Street, who authorities say has no reason to believe was involved, dragged the cooler a block to about the 700 block of Bourbon, where authorities found it after the attack.
Around 2:20 a.m. in the 500 block of Bourbon, Jabbar placed a second homemade bomb in a cooler, authorities said. At 3:15 a.m., Jabbar drove his rented truck into a loud crowd on Bourbon Street, started at the beginning of the 100 block, and crashed in the middle of the 300 block.
Authorities said the truck had an Islamic State flag on it. The rifle he used in the shootout was purchased privately from someone who knew of his plans, officials said. Officials said Jabbar was wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet and had made a homemade device to muffle the sound of rifle fire.
Additionally, regarding the device Jabbar made, authorities said Jabbar “did not have access to a detonator and instead attempted to detonate the explosive using an electric match.”
said Joshua Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, ATF New Orleans Field Division. What is unusual is that Jabbar used an explosive device triggered by a detonator. Because civilians do not have easy access to detonators, homemade bombs are usually made with explosives that are ignited by flame. ”
Jackson added: “Jabbar's inexperience and shoddy assembly of the device are the reasons he used the wrong device to detonate the explosives.”
Shortly after 5 a.m., police received a report of a fire at a rental home on Mandeville Street. Local firefighters discovered an explosive device and bomb-making materials.
Jackson said Jabbar used an open flame to start the fire just before leaving. The fire started in the linen closet next to the washer and dryer in the rental home. Jabbar also placed accelerants in other rooms of the house, adding, “It is believed that this was done intentionally so that the entire residence would burn down in order to destroy evidence of the crime.'' Mr. Jackson said.
Jackson also revealed that Jabbar drove himself from Houston to New Orleans. And throughout his time at the rental location in New Orleans, “he was the only person seen going back and forth there,” Jackson said.
Video footage from doorbell camera obtained According to CNN, footage showed Jabbar outside the rental home before the solo attack.
During a briefing on bomb-making supplies at a short-term rental facility, Joshua Jackson, special agent in charge of ATF's New Orleans field division, said the explosives recovered were “all relatively common and available here in the United States.” said. . These statements appeared to dispel some reports that Jabbar used unusual explosives not seen in the United States or Europe.
Jabbar's father had converted from Christianity to Islam. The veteran's name was given to him at birth, but he later converted to Islam.
All available indications were that Jabbar had fallen into extremism after marital and financial hardships. He had previously served in the U.S. military for more than a decade, serving in Afghanistan and earning medals in the global war on terror.
Libersberger, of Las Vegas, reportedly showed symptoms of depression after returning from a tour in Afghanistan in 2019 due to a traumatic brain injury, but was not receiving treatment. His wife reportedly broke up with him less than a week before the explosion after an argument over apparent infidelity.
Ramon Antonio Vargas contributed to this report
