By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-01 18:51:45 | Updated at 2025-01-04 11:23:03
2 days ago
Two Israeli citizens are among at least 30 people injured in the terrorist attack on New Year's Eve revelers in New Orleans.
Shamsud Din Jabbar, driving a white Ford F-150 EV, mowed down and shot pedestrians ringing in 2025 on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter about 3.15am.
The FBI is investigating the massacre 'as an act of terrorism' and New Orleans mayor LaToya Cantrell described it as a 'terrorist attack'.
Louisiana Lt Governor Billy Nungesser said investigators were probing whether the attack was connected to ISIS and if a flag on the back of the truck was connected to the terrorist group.
New Orleans police said the vast majority of victims were locals, but Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein said two of the wounded were Israeli.
None of the at least 40 victims have yet been identified.
Jabbar, 42, was killed in a shootout with police after he got out of his truck and started shooting, injuring two officers who are in stable conditions.
Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said the suspect, who is from Texas and served in the US Army, was 'hellbent on creating carnage'.
Shamsud Din Jabbar (pictured), 42, has been identified as the driver who massacred pedestrians
The driver who plowed into pedestrians celebrating the New Year in New Orleans killing at least 10 people and injuring dozens is dead following a shootout with police
Authorities investigating the 'mass casualty incident' said Jabbar showed 'very intentional behavior' after driving into crowds before he got out and fired a weapon.
Officials said an improvised explosive device was found in the area. About 8.30am a 'small explosion' went off in the quarter as the device was detonated by the bomb squad.
The FBI will now lead the investigation into the attack.
At first, the FBI said that it was not linked to terrorism - before later confirming that the mass fatality indeed is being investigated as such.
Witnesses claimed Jabbar was 'wearing full body armor' and 'armed with an assault rifle', and officials said he was 'trying to run over as many people as he possibly could'.
Investigators recovered a handgun and an AR-style rifle after the shootout, law enforcement officials said.
Videos circulating on social media showed a chaotic scene at the tourist hotspot as people ran from the casualty-strewn area while bullets rang out in the background.
The vehicle was rented on car sharing app Turo. The 42-year-old man who listed it lives in Houston and has already been contacted by federal investigators.
The suspect rammed into the large group at high speed, then got out and started firing a weapon, witnesses said
Videos circulating on social media that appear to have been recorded at the scene shows multiple casualties on the ground as shots ring out in the background
Ambulances rushed the wounded to five hospitals and paramedics, ambulances and vehicles from the coroner's office were at the scene.
A man, who claimed to witness the incident while out with his wife, wrote on Twitter that he saw the SUV 'speeding' down the road and 'running people over'.
Another alleged witness told WLWT that she saw the vehicle strike the crowd and multiple officers open fire at the suspect. She said she started running and only escaped 'by the grace of god'.
Kevin Garcia, 22, told CNN the car was 'slamming into everyone on the left side of Bourbon sidewalk'. He heard gunshots ring out and claims a 'body came flying at me'.
Whit Davis, a 22-year-old witness from Shreveport, Louisiana, said he was in a nightclub when the attack unfolded. He recalled how people 'started running and hiding under tables' in a scene that resembled 'an active shooter drill'.
Police then held him and a group of partygoers in the bar, Davis told BBC, noting that when they were finally allowed to leave the establishment that they 'were walking past dead and injured bodies all over the street'.
Bourbon Street, famous for its many bars and clubs, was been shut down while investigators worked the scene. People were advised to stay away from the area.
