WPBN: According to FBI New Orleans Special Agent in Charge Lyonel Myrthil on Sunday, the man who attacked Bourbon Street in New Orleans early on New Year’s morning had been to the city twice in the months before and had utilized Meta smart glasses to video the street and plot the attack.
According to Myrthil, the assailant, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, began filming while riding a bicycle through the French Quarter while staying at a rental house in New Orleans on October 30. Investigators were still piecing together the specifics of his November 10 travel to New Orleans.
During the New Year’s attack, he wore a pair of Meta smart glasses, but he didn’t turn them on that day. After he passed away, the spectacles were discovered on him.
During a press briefing on Sunday, officials unveiled videos of his actions hours prior to the attack and gave a timeline of his movements, revealing his planning.
Just after 3 a.m. on New Year’s Day, 42-year-old Army veteran Jabbar, who had sworn allegiance to ISIS, crashed a pickup truck into a crowd of Bourbon Street revelers and then opened fire, killing 14 and leaving at least 35 others injured, according to the FBI. Jabbar was slain in a gunfight with police after the car finally collided with a cherry picker forklift.
The horrific murder has sparked inquiries about how the city guarded Bourbon Street and how a large truck managed to enter one of the US’s busiest pedestrian thoroughfares.
The Carnival parade season, which begins Monday with two parades in the French Quarter, has a “comprehensive security plan,” according to a New Orleans Police Department spokesperson.
“The NOPD has a comprehensive security plan in place for the Joan of Arc parade and all parades moving forward,” NOPD stated. “We are hardening our targets and strategically placing resources to ensure the event is safe and enjoyable for everyone. While we cannot disclose specific operational details, we want to assure the public that we are fully prepared and working closely with our partners to provide a secure environment.”
The identities and names of all 14 victims of the attack in the New Year have now been confirmed. During the press conference, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry announced that Latasha Polk, a licensed nursing assistant and mother of a 14-year-old, was the last victim to be identified.
“Latasha would have wanted the city to turn out in celebration, but tinged with grief but not in fear,” according to her family, Landry added.
The FBI claims a random person moved the IED.
According to the FBI, Jabbar arrived in Louisiana at around 2:30 p.m. on December 31 and arrived at an Airbnb at around 10 p.m. to unload his rental Ford F150 vehicle.
According to Joshua Jackson, special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ New Orleans field division, Jabbar burned down the rented house and fled in the vehicle around fifteen minutes after midnight.
Jackson stated, “We think he did this and his intention was to burn down the entire house and conceal evidence of his crimes.” Additionally, he postulated that the fire might have used as a “distraction” to redirect fire and police resources.
The fire crew extinguished the fire just after 5 a.m. when the fire failed to spread to the entire house.
According to the FBI, Jabbar left two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on Bourbon Street after leaving the rental house, and a transmitter that would have detonated the IEDs was discovered in his car. Additionally, bomb-making supplies were discovered at his Houston home and at the Airbnb.
According to Myrthil, he left two IEDs on Bourbon Street, one in a bucket cooler and the other in a rolling cooler. According to him, “someone on Bourbon Street, who we have no reason to believe was involved, dragged the cooler a block” away on Bourbon and Orleans after he left the rolling cooler at Bourbon and St. Peter Street at 1:53 a.m.
After the attack, investigators discovered the cooler in that second location. At 2:20 a.m., the second IED was set up in the bucket cooler at the intersection of Toulouse and Bourbon streets.
According to officials, Jabbar acted alone.
According to Jackson, two firearms—a semi-automatic rifle and a semi-automatic pistol—were found during the assault. According to Jackson, Jabbar bought the gun from an individual who didn’t know Jabbar and wasn’t aware of the attack at a private auction in Arlington, Texas, on November 19. In Texas, these kinds of transactions are permitted.
Lastly, according to Myrthil, authorities are investigating Jabbar’s visits to Atlanta and Tampa as well as his journeys to Egypt and Canada. According to him, he visited Ontario from July 10 to July 13, 2023, and went to Cairo from June 22 to July 3, 2023. His activities during those travels are being investigated by FBI agents to see whether they have anything to do with the attack.
