Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Thursday that an “atmosphere of fear” prevails in the United States after Wednesday's deadly terrorist attack in New Orleans killed 14 people and injured dozens more. He said he would not allow it.
The suspect in the attack, Shamsud Din Jabbar, a Texas veteran and American citizen, was shot and killed by police in the early morning hours of New Year's Day after plowing his truck into a crowd of people enjoying the holiday.
“This person appears to be an individual, an American citizen, who has been radicalized into violence by a foreign terrorist ideology, specifically the ISIS ideology,” Mayorkas said on “Your World.” “This is kind of a phenomenon, a phenomenon of domestic violent extremism that we've seen over the last 10 years.”
After terrorist suspect Shamsuddin Jabbar drove his car into a crowd in New Orleans on New Year's Day, family and friends scrambled to identify the growing number of victims.
Officials said an ISIS flag was recovered from the Ford pickup truck Jabar used to mow down people in the French Quarter.
Christopher Reier, deputy assistant director of the FBI's counterterrorism division, said: said at a press conference On Thursday, Jabbar posted a video online expressing support for ISIS while driving from Houston to New Orleans.
“This investigation is only a little over 24 hours old, but at this time there is no indication that anyone other than Shamsud Din Bahar Jabar was involved in this attack,” Raia said.
What we know about the victims of the New Orleans terrorist attack
On January 1, 2025, law enforcement officers from multiple agencies were on scene on Bourbon Street after someone allegedly drove a car into a crowd of people early on New Year's Day in New Orleans, Louisiana, killing at least 10 people. I am active in (Michael DeMocker/Getty Images)
Mayorkas said that while ISIS' goal is to force Americans to “live in fear,” American democracy and its way of life “must prevail.”
“We are going to continue to enjoy a democratic way of life and prosper, and we will not allow an atmosphere of fear to prevail so that ISIS's goals will succeed,” he told Fox News anchor Sandra Smith. We will not allow that to happen.”
Smith pressed Mayorkas about the number of encounters on the terrorist watch list at the southern border under the Biden administration and why steps weren't taken sooner to curb the number of illegal immigrants.
New Orleans attack suspect's brother says attack is a sign of 'radicalization': Report
Pro-ISIS media outlets called on Muslims in Russia, Europe and the United States to carry out attacks on New Year's Eve. (AP Photo/Getty Images)
Mayorkas said that U.S. law enforcement agencies work every day to “ensure the safety and security of the American people” and screen out those who pose a threat to public safety and national security.
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“Those who pose a threat to the American people, regardless of the nature of the threat, are a top priority for law enforcement action as provided by our laws. And we enforce and enforce those laws every day.” added.
