Attack in New Orleans, live: 15 dead and 35 injured, the profile of the suspect “inspired” by Daesh worries

Attack in New Orleans live 15 dead and 35 injured

The alleged perpetrator killed in the shootout with police, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, is a former soldier and American national from Texas. “He was fiercely determined to cause carnage,” local police said.

The essentials

  • Fifteen people were killed and thirty-five injured during a vehicular attack on Wednesday January 1, 2025 in the French Quarter of New Orleans, while celebrations for the transition to the new year were in full swing on the “Bourbon Street.”
  • The alleged perpetrator – shot dead in the shootout with the police – and driver of the vehicle, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, was identified as an “American national from Texas” born in the United States and ex-soldier of the army. US President Joe Biden stressed that he had “posted videos on social media indicating that he was inspired by ISIS”. An Islamic State group flag was found in the vehicle used in the attack.
  • The police are looking for possible accomplices. “The FBI is working to determine the individual’s potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations,” the federal police statement said. “We do not believe that Jabbar is solely responsible,” said Alethea Duncan, special agent of the FBI.

Live

08:23 – The human toll increases

According to New Orleans Police Director Anne Kirkpatrick, the death toll from the vehicular attack in the French Quarter of New Orleans has risen. At least 15 people died and 35 were injured. An investigation for “terrorism” was opened by the FBI.

08:14 – The complex profile of Shamsud-Din Jabbar, alleged perpetrator

Aged 42, the suspect in the car-ramming attack in New Orleans on Wednesday was identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, an “American national from Texas” and ex-army soldier, by the federal police. He served from 2009 to 2010 in Afghanistan, finishing as a staff sergeant, according to the Department of Defense. According to the FBI, “a flag (of the jihadist group) ISIS (Islamic State) was in his vehicle” and two homemade explosive devices were found in the car and in the neighborhood were defused.

The man “was fiercely determined to cause carnage,” local police chief Anne Kirkpatrick said Wednesday, calling the man a “terrorist.” Shamsud-Din Jabbar was shot dead in the shootout with police. He is described as “a sweetheart” by his brother Abdur Jabba, telling the New York Times that he had converted to Islam at a young age, speaking of “a form of radicalization”. Joe Biden stressed that the suspect had “published videos on social networks indicating that he was inspired by ISIS”. The investigation must now determine the “possible associations and affiliations of the individual with terrorist organizations”.

What you need to know

In the United States, a vehicle drove into the crowd in New Orleans on the morning of Wednesday January 1, on the edge of the French Quarter of the American city, reports franceinfo. The accident left at least 15 dead and 30 injured who were distributed to different hospitals in the region, according to a latest report. “Everyone started yelling and screaming and running towards the back, then we were locked in for a little while and it calmed down, but they wouldn’t let us leave,” testified one woman who found in a nightclub on the street. In a press release, the city’s emergency authority indicated that the accident involved “a large number of victims”, while a vehicle “ran into the crowd on Canal and Bourbon Street”, said RTL . In this area made up of many bars, the number of law enforcement officers had been increased, with the authorities preparing for a large crowd in the streets.

Another man testified that he heard “gunshots.” According to the American media CBS News, several witnesses said they saw a truck rushing “at high speed” into the crowd. They said the driver jumped out of his vehicle and then began firing a gun, prompting a police response. Among the injured are two police officers who are in “stable condition”. For his part, the suspect in the attack was identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, an “American national from Texas” and ex-army soldier, said the federal police. Anne Kirkpatrick, local police chief, described him as a “terrorist”. In the columns of the New York Times, his brother confided that he had converted to Islam with “a form of radicalization”. A flag of the terrorist group was found in the vehicle used in the attack.

FBI opens investigation for ‘terrorist act’

The city’s mayor, LaTonya Cantrell, said the city of New Orleans was hit by “a terrorist attack,” BFM TV reported. Explosives were found in the man’s vehicle. “We are trying to confirm whether or not this is an active and functioning device,” Alethea Duncan of the FBI explained during a press briefing. Authorities added that the man was determined to “wreak carnage.” “The suspect fired at our officers after the vehicle was in an accident,” explained New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick. The FBI said it had opened an investigation for a “terrorist act”. New Orleans police have confirmed the death of the suspect in the attack. During the exchange of gunfire, the man was “hit and he was pronounced dead on the spot,” police wrote.

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