The death toll has now risen to at least 15 people in the New Orleans “act of terrorism” after a car rammed into a crowd on Bourbon Street in the early hours of Wednesday, CNN reported.
In an official statement, New Orleans Coroner Dwight McKenna said, “As of now, 15 people are deceased. It will take several days to perform all autopsies. Once we complete the autopsies and talk with the next of kin, we will release the identifications of the victims.” McKenna informed us that the New Orleans Police Department is working closely with the FBI and Homeland Security to investigate this attack.
The FBI earlier described the attack as “an act of terrorism” and revealed that the driver, Shamsud Din Jabbar, had an ISIS flag and multiple suspected explosive devices in his vehicle. The FBI also added that the vehicle was rented from a car rental platform called Turo.
Moreover, the FBI had previously stated that it does not believe Shamsud Din Jabbar, the driver who carried out the New Orleans attack, was “solely responsible” for the “act of terrorism.” Alethea Duncan, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, said the investigation is “aggressively running down every lead, including those concerning Jabbar’s known associates.”
“That’s why we need the public’s help. We’re asking if anybody has had any interactions with Shamsud Din Jabbar in the last 72 hours to contact us,” she said during a news conference.
“The FBI is asking for the public’s help. We’re asking anyone with information, videos, or pictures to provide it to the FBI,” she added. Duncan also mentioned that an ISIS flag was found on the trailer hitch of the vehicle used by Jabbar. The FBI is working to determine Jabbar’s “potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations,” she said.
According to a CNN report, the FBI has identified Shamsud Din Jabbar as a US citizen from Texas, and officials confirmed he had previously served in the U.S. military. In a statement on X, the FBI wrote, “This morning, an individual drove a car into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing a number of people and injuring dozens of others. The subject then engaged with local law enforcement and is now deceased. The FBI is the lead investigative agency, and we are working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism.”
FBI Releases Photo Of Shamsud-Din Jabbar
The FBI has released a photo of New Orleans attack suspect Shamsud-Din Jabbar.
According to records from the Texas Department of Public Safety, Jabbar was previously arrested twice in Texas.
He was arrested in November 2002 in Katy, Texas, on a lower-level theft charge. He pleaded guilty and was issued a small fine and probation.
The Beaumont Police Department arrested him a second time in June 2005 on charges of driving with an invalid license, a lower-tier offence. According to public records, he pleaded no contest, paid a fine, and was sentenced to short probation.
Who Is Shamsud-Din Jabbar?
Shamsud-Din Jabbar served in the US Army as a human resource specialist and information technology specialist from March 2007 until January 2015, according to an Army spokesperson.
During that time, he was deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010.
He then served in the Army Reserve as an IT specialist from January 2015 until July 2020. The spokesperson said he held the rank of staff sergeant at the end of his service.
