Key Points
- A man plowed a truck into pedestrians celebrating New Year in New Orleans' French Quarter.
- The suspect was killed in a shootout with police.
- The FBI said an ISIS flag was found in the vehicle.
A US citizen with an Islamic State flag and "hell bent" on carnage steered a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year revellers in the southern US city of New Orleans, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens, officials said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified the attacker as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old US citizen from Texas and an Army veteran. He appeared to have been a real estate agent working in Houston and had served as an IT specialist in the military.
Officials said they were searching for accomplices but gave few details.
Police superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick described Jabbar as a "terrorist," while the FBI said "an ISIS flag was located in the vehicle," using another name for the self-proclaimed Islamic State group.
"The FBI is working to determine the subject's potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organisations," the agency said in a statement.
Officials said a manhunt was underway, with FBI agent Alethea Duncan warning that authorities "do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible."
Louisiana governor Jeff Landry said: "We're hunting some bad people down."
Authorities had earlier put the death toll at 10, but an FBI spokesman told Agence France-Presse it had risen to 15, citing the New Orleans coroner's office.
How the attack unfolded
Police said the incident happened around 3.15am local time on Wednesday in the heart of the French Quarter, which was packed with people celebrating the start of 2025.
The suspect drove a white Ford F-150 electric pickup 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.
"This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could," 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.
US President Joe Biden, describing the attack as "despicable," said that hours before Jabbar had posted videos online "indicating that he was inspired by ISIS".
Biden said law enforcement is also investigating whether there are any links between the New Orleans truck attack and .
Police chief Anne Kirkpatrick says a suspect was "trying to run over as many people as he could". Source: AP / Gerald Herbert
What we know about the suspect and his motive
While an investigation is ongoing, so far no information has surfaced to explain why Jabbar would carry out the New Orleans attack.
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.
Before serving in the Army, Jabbar enlisted in the Navy in August 2004 under a delayed entry program but was discharged a month later, a Navy official told Reuters.
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".
Witnesses say a white pickup truck slammed through a barricade at high speed and hit pedestrians. Source: AP / Gerald Herbert
"We instantly counted, I'd say, 10 bodies — six clearly graphically deceased...," he said.
Bollards were being replaced
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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