FBI: New Orleans Suspect Planted Two IEDs Before Attack, Is Believed to Have Acted Alone

New Orleans terror suspect Shamsud Din Jabbar planted two IEDs (improvised explosive devices) ahead of his attack and is now believed to have acted alone, Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia of the Counterterrorism Division said during a press conference Thursday morning.

Raia confirmed that 14 innocent individuals were killed in the attack, in which Shamsud Din Jabbar plowed his truck through crowds of people and opened fire. At least 35 more were injured as the result of the attack.

Despite the confusion initially after the attack, Raia made it clear that “this was an act of terrorism.”

“It was premeditated and an evil act. It’s obviously a critical incident, and with that, lots of information and tips come pouring in from law enforcement, first responders and the public,” he said, explaining that they have been “aggressively” pursuing leads and reviewing “hundreds of hours of surveillance and other video for both the French Quarter and other locations.”

Providing a rough timeline, Raia said Jabbar picked up the rented truck in Houston, Texas, on December 30 and drove to New Orleans on December 31. The suspect also “posted several videos to an online platform proclaiming his support for ISIS,” which goes along with authorities recovering an ISIS flag at the scene.

“As you know, we recovered an ISIS flag from the back of the vehicle. Jabbar declared his support for the terrorist group on social media, as I stated before, as he made his way to New Orleans,” he said. “FBI bomb technicians also recovered two IEDs in coolers, one from the cross section of Bourbon and Portland Street, and the second at an intersection approximately two blocks away,” he revealed, noting that reports of other devices are “misinformation.”

“Those are the only two devices that we’ve been able to recover that were functional. Both devices were rendered safe on scene,” he said, revealing they obtained surveillance footage “showing Jabbar placing the devices where they were found.”

Further, he said “at this point,” they do not believe anyone else is involved in the attack.

“Currently, and this is another position, another fact, I want to be clear on, we do not assess at this point that anyone else … is involved in this attack, except for Shamsud Din Jabbar, the subject you’ve already been briefed on,” he said.

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Reporters later followed up on that statement given suggestions the day prior that more individuals were believed to be involved. Gov. Jeff Landry explained that facts change very quickly in these investigations.

“Everybody lives in a 15-second TikTok video. We think that life operates like it does on our phones … information changes. In fact, that’s why we ask the media for patience,” he said. “No one dumps [a] 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle and puts it together in five seconds.”