Key Points
- A man drove a truck into pedestrians celebrating New Year's Eve in New Orleans.
- The suspect, a 42-year-old US Army veteran, was killed in a shootout with police.
- The FBI said the man posted videos before the attack expressing support for the self-proclaimed Islamic State group.
A US army veteran motivated by loyalty to the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) group likely acted alone when he killed 14 and injured more than 30 in a truck attack against a New Orleans crowd of New Year revellers, authorities say.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified the attacker — who died in a police shootout — as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a US citizen from Texas who served as an IT specialist in the military and appeared to have subsequently worked as a real estate agent in Houston.
Despite initial concerns that Jabbar had accomplices still on the run, preliminary investigations show he likely acted alone, FBI deputy assistant director Christopher Raia said during a press conference on Thursday (local time).
"This was an act of terrorism. It was premeditated and an evil act. But at this point ... we do not assess at this point that anyone else is involved in this attack," Raia said.
New evidence has emerged detailing the extent of the US citizen's loyalty to IS and his plans to cause mayhem in the attack.
Raia said Jabbar was "100 per cent" inspired by IS, adding that just before the attack, in which Jabbar slammed a rented Ford F-150 pickup into the crowd, he "posted several videos to an online platform proclaiming his support for ISIS".
In one video, Jabbar explained he had previously planned to harm his family and friends but was concerned that the media coverage would not focus on the "war between the believers and the disbelievers," Raia said.
He also carried a black IS flag on the back of the vehicle.
The FBI was still investigating Jabbar's "path to radicalisation," but the evidence reviewed so far showed that he was clearly inspired by IS, Raia said.
US President Joe Biden had earlier said that hours before the attack, Jabbar had posted videos online "indicating that he was inspired by" the IS group.
The IS group is an Islamist militant organisation that once following a sustained military campaign by a US-led coalition.
Even as it has been weakened in the field, it has continued to recruit sympathisers online, experts say.
No 'definitive link' with Las Vegas incident
The New Orleans attack coincided with a high-profile incident in Las Vegas a few hours later, where a outside a hotel owned by US president-elect Donald Trump.
One person was killed, and seven were injured in the incident. It remains unclear whether it was accidental or deliberate.
US media quoted law enforcement sources as saying the person who rented the Telsa truck was a current US Army special forces member.
In another echo of the New Orleans incident, the vehicles in both cases had been rented through the car-sharing app Turo.
Raia said: "At this point, there is no definitive link between the attack here in New Orleans and the one in Las Vegas."
How the attack unfolded
The FBI said Jabbar drove from Houston to New Orleans on 31 December and posted five videos on Facebook between 1.29am and 3.02am on the morning of the attack in which he said he supported IS.
Police said the incident happened around 3.15am local time on Wednesday in the heart of the city's French Quarter, which was packed with people celebrating the start of 2025.
The suspect drove a white Ford F-150 electric pick-up truck into a group of pedestrians, then exited and was killed in an exchange of gunfire with police — two of whom were wounded. Two homemade bombs were found and neutralised, the FBI said.
Raia clarified that the total death toll of 15 from Wednesday's carnage included 14 victims and Jabbar himself.
"This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could," New Orleans police chief Anne Kirkpatrick told reporters.
Driving at "very high speed" and in a "very intentional" manner, "he was hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did", she said.
The wounded officers were in stable condition and Kirkpatrick said they would recover.
Officials postponed the Sugar Bowl, a classic American college football game played in New Orleans each New Year's Day, for 24 hours, event organisers said. The city will also be the site of the NFL Super Bowl on 9 February.
"To all the people in New Orleans who are grieving, I grieve with you," Biden said, calling it a heinous attack.
"Our nation grieves with you," he added, promising that his administration would support the city as its citizens "begin the hard work of healing".
Among the victims were a mother of a four-year-old who had just moved into a new apartment after getting a promotion at work, a New York financial employee and accomplished student athlete who was visiting home for the holidays, and an 18-year-old aspiring nurse from Mississippi.
What we know about the suspect and alleged motive
Jabbar served in the Army as a human resource specialist and information technology specialist from 2007 until 2015. He then joined the Army Reserve as an IT specialist until 2020, holding the rank of staff sergeant at the end of service, according to an Army official.
Jabbar deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010, the official said.
The attack took place in New Orleans' historic French Quarter. Source: AP / Matthew Hinton
Corporate records show that Jabbar got involved in a series of businesses in recent years.
In a promotional video for a real estate business posted to YouTube in 2020, a man with the same name as the suspect said his time in the military had taught him the importance of great service and taking everything seriously.
"I've taken those skills and applied them to my career as a real estate agent, where I feel like what really sets me apart from other agents is my ability to be able to one be a fierce negotiator," he said, encouraging clients to give him a call.
Witnesses describe horror in iconic neighbourhood
In the early hours of the year's first day, revellers were celebrating in New Orleans' French Quarter, a district renowned for its bars, restaurants, jazz history and Mardi Gras parties.
A couple told CBS News that they heard crashing noises coming from down the street and then saw a white truck slam through a barricade "at a high rate of speed".
Another witness, Jimmy Cothran, told ABC the mayhem was "insanity".
Witnesses say a white pickup truck slammed through a barricade at high speed and hit pedestrians. Source: AP / Gerald Herbert
In response to vehicle attacks on pedestrian malls around the world, New Orleans was in the process of removing and replacing the steel barriers known as bollards that restrict vehicle traffic in the Bourbon Street pedestrian zone. The project's status was unclear at the time of Wednesday's attack.
Construction began in November 2024 and was scheduled to continue through February 2025, according to a city website.
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