New Orleans attacker had suspected bomb materials at home, reserved truck weeks ago, officials say
NEW ORLEANS — The man killed by New Orleans police after ramming a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year’s revelers had suspected bomb-making materials at his home and reserved the vehicle used in the deadly attack more than six weeks earlier, law enforcement officials told the Associated Press on Friday.
Federal authorities searching the home of Shamsud-Din Jabbar in Houston found a workbench in the garage and hazardous materials believed to have been used to make explosive devices, according to law enforcement officials familiar with the search. The officials were not authorized to discuss the ongoing inquiry and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity.
The FBI investigation also revealed that Jabbar purchased a cooler in Vidor, Texas, hours before the attack and gun oil from a store in Sulphur, La., the officials said. Authorities also determined Jabbar booked his rental of the pickup truck on Nov. 14, suggesting that he may have been plotting the attack for more than six weeks.
Authorities say 14 people were killed and about 30 were injured in the attack early Wednesday by Jabbar, a former Army soldier who posted social media messages saying he was inspired by the Islamic State militant group.
Jabbar, 42, was fatally shot in a gunfight with police at the scene of the deadly crash on Bourbon Street, famous for its festive vibes in New Orleans’ historic French Quarter.
Authorities found crude bombs that had been planted in the neighborhood in an apparent attempt to cause more carnage. Two improvised explosive devices left in coolers several blocks apart were rendered safe, officials said. Other devices were determined to be nonfunctional.
Authorities on Friday were investigating Jabbar’s motives and how he carried out the attack. Two police officers were wounded in the shootout with Jabbar. New Orleans police declined to comment on how many shots were fired, citing the active investigation.
Bourbon Street was solemn Friday. A day after the crime scene reopened to the public, locals and tourists stopped to pay respect to victims as the sound of bucket drums echoed. People shed tears while gathering at a makeshift memorial. Some left flowers and candles while others knelt to pray.
Meanwhile, 13 people remained hospitalized. Eight people were in intensive care at University Medical Center New Orleans, spokesperson Carolina Giepert said.
At its height, the group controlled a huge swath of Mideast territory and ruled over millions. Today, its brutal ideology still powers offshoots and inspires “lone wolves.”
The White House said President Biden would travel to New Orleans next week. The president and first lady planned to visit Monday to “grieve with the families and community members impacted by the tragic attack.”
On Friday, police used vehicles and barricades on Friday to block traffic at Bourbon and Canal streets. Other law enforcement agencies helped provide extra security, said Reese Harper, a spokesperson for the New Orleans Police Department.
The first parade of the Carnival season leading up to Mardi Gras was scheduled to take place Monday. New Orleans will also host the Super Bowl on Feb. 9.
Officials have not yet released the names of the 15 people killed, but their families and friends have started sharing their stories.
“This enhanced safety effort will continue daily, not just during large events,” Harper said in a news release.
New Orleans City Council President Helena Moreno took steps toward launching a probe of the attack. In a memo to another council member obtained by AP, Moreno said she was initiating the creation of a local and state legislative committee “dedicated to reviewing the incident and its implications.”
“This committee will play a crucial role in assessing our current policies, enhancing security measures, and ensuring that we are adequately prepared to respond to any future threats,” Moreno wrote.
The FBI continued to hunt for clues about Jabbar. A day into its investigation, the agency said it was confident he was not aided by anyone else in the attack, which killed an 18-year-old aspiring nurse, a single mother, a father of two and a former Princeton University football star, among others.
The FBI said that hours before the attack, Jabbar posted five videos on his Facebook account in which he proclaimed his support for the Islamic State group and previewed the violence that he would soon unleash in the famed French Quarter district.
It was the deadliest Islamic State-inspired assault on U.S. soil in years, laying bare what federal officials have warned is a resurgent international terrorism threat.
Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Friday that the Army’s Criminal Investigative Division was working with the FBI to provide records and look into how Jabbar could have been radicalized. Jabbar enlisted in the Army in 2007, transferred to the Army Reserve in 2015 and left military service in 2020 with the rank of staff sergeant.
“The FBI is going to, over the course of the investigation, comb through how this individual did become radicalized in terms of [looking at] his personnel information, information while he was serving in the Army and as a reservist,” Singh told reporters.
The FBI recovered a black Islamic State flag from Jabbar’s rented pickup and reviewed five videos posted to Facebook, including one in which he said he originally planned to harm his family and friends but was concerned news headlines would not focus on the “war between the believers and the disbelievers,” said Christopher Raia, the deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counterterrorism division.
Raia stressed there was no indication of a connection between the New Orleans attack and the explosion Wednesday of a Tesla Cybertruck packed with fireworks outside President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel.
Associated Press writer Jim Mustian reported from Black Mountain, N.C., Smith and Brook from New Orleans, Cline from Baton Rouge, La. AP reporters Eric Tucker and Tara Copp in Washington; Sharon Lurye in New Orleans; Jeff Martin in Atlanta; Darlene Superville in New Castle, Del.; and Martha Bellisle in Seattle contributed to this report.
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