Law enforcement conduct an investigation in connection with the New Orleans terrorist attack near the intersection of Hugh Road and Crescent Peak Drive in Houston, Texas on January 1, 2025.
Photo courtesy of AFP
The French Quarter, near Bourbon Street is blocked off late morning with a heavy police and FBI presence after a Terrorist attack early in the morning in New Orleans, Louisiana, on January 1, 2025.
A U.S. citizen carrying an Islamic State flag and "hellbent" on carnage drove a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year's revelers in New Orleans on Wednesday, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens, officials said.
The FBI identified the attacker as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen from Texas and an Army veteran. He had worked as a real estate agent in Houston and served as an IT specialist in the military.
Officials said they were searching for any accomplices but provided few details.
Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick called Jabbar a "terrorist," and the FBI confirmed that "an ISIS flag was located in the vehicle," using another name for the Islamic State group.
"The FBI is working to determine the subject's potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations," the agency said in a statement.
Authorities said a manhunt was underway, with FBI agent Alethea Duncan warning that investigators "do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible."
"We're hunting some bad people down," Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said.
Initially, authorities put the death toll at 10, but an FBI spokesman later confirmed it had risen to 15, citing the New Orleans coroner’s office.
Aiming for 'Carnage'
Police said the attack began around 3:15 a.m. (0915 GMT) in the heart of the French Quarter, which was packed with people celebrating the start of 2025.
The suspect drove a white Ford F-150 electric pickup truck into a group of pedestrians, then exited the vehicle and was shot and killed in an exchange of gunfire with police. Two officers were wounded, and two homemade bombs were found and neutralized, the FBI said.
"This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could," Kirkpatrick told reporters.
Driving at "very high speed" and in a "very intentional" manner, "he was hellbent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did," Kirkpatrick said.
The wounded officers were in stable condition, and Kirkpatrick said they would recover.
The Pentagon said Jabbar had served in the Army as a human resources specialist and an IT specialist from 2007 to 2015, then in the Army Reserve until 2020.
He deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010, an Army spokesperson said, adding that he held the rank of staff sergeant at the end of his service.
U.S. President Joe Biden condemned the attack in a statement, saying his government "will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation's communities."
President-elect Donald Trump quickly linked the attack to illegal immigration, giving no evidence, in a statement made before authorities confirmed the suspect was American.
Trump also claimed the nation’s crime rate "is at a level that nobody has ever seen," despite violent crime rates being sharply down across the country, according to the FBI.
Horror in Iconic Neighborhood
In the early hours of the year’s first day, revelers were celebrating in the French Quarter, a district known for its bars, restaurants, jazz history, and Mardi Gras celebrations.
Bystander Zion Parsons said he saw the scene quickly turn into chaos.
"The best way I can describe it is truly a war zone," he told CNN. "There were bodies and blood and all the trash."
"People were terrified, running, screaming," he said.
Another witness, Jimmy Cothran, told ABC that the mayhem was "insanity."
"We instantly counted, I'd say, 10 bodies -- six clearly graphically deceased, and the others yelling with no one around," he said.
New Orleans is one of the most heavily visited destinations in the United States and on February 9 will stage the NFL's Super Bowl game -- one of the biggest sporting events of the year.
The attack came just hours before the city was due to host the Sugar Bowl, a major college football game featuring teams from the University of Georgia and Notre Dame.
That game was delayed for 24 hours, officials said.
Policing had already been heavy over the New Year's holiday, according to the city, as authorities braced for big crowds.
The city police department had announced staffing at "100 percent, with an additional 300 officers assisting from partner law enforcement agencies," including on horseback and using unmarked units.
