Federal officials do not believe the suspect in the New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans had help from four other people recorded on surveillance cameras.
The attack resulted in 15 people being killed and others hurt, the New York Post reported on Wednesday of the horrific scene that unfolded on Bourbon Street as people were enjoying the celebrations:
Video surveillance from the French Quarter seemingly showed three men and one woman planting explosives at multiple locations, a federal alert to police departments around the country said soon after the tragic attack.
Federal authorities have since ruled out their involvement in the attack but still suggested that terror suspect Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, was not “solely responsible” for the carnage.
The suspect was accused of driving a pickup truck through the crowd, killing 15 people and injuring at least 30 more people, Breitbart News reported on Wednesday.
“The subject then engaged with local law enforcement and is now deceased,” The FBI said.
Officials with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed Jabbar had an Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) flag in the vehicle at the time. The agency also noted it is investigating the attack as an act of terrorism.
Residents and visitors were left in disbelief after the incident, AFP reported on Wednesday. New Orleans native Ken Williams told the outlet, “We’re all numb.”
Video footage shows the moment pedestrians on the street notice the truck coming their way. They scatter as the vehicle comes into the camera’s view, per KVUE:
Authorities said Jabbar sped down Bourbon Street wearing body armor and firing an “AR-style rifle” out of the truck. He apparently sped about three blocks, crashed, got out of the truck, and opened fire once more, wounding two police officers at the scene.
Jabbar was a U.S. Army veteran from Texas, AFP reported on Thursday.
“Jabbar, 42, posted a series of online videos before driving a rented truck into New Year’s revelers in which he discussed plans to kill his family and dreams that inspired him to join the Islamic State, according to CNN,” the outlet said.