Investigators are searching for additional suspects connected to the New Orleans terror attack that left at least ten dead and 35 more injured in the early hours of New Year’s Day, the FBI announced Wednesday afternoon.
The deceased suspect who carried out the fatal truck-ramming attack has been identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar.
“We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible,” Alethea Duncan, New Orleans FBI assistant special agent in charge, told reporters. “We are aggressively running down every lead, including those of his known associates.”
Law enforcement is investigating Jabbar’s “potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations” after an ISIS flag was found in the back of his vehicle. The FBI is leading the ongoing investigation into the potential act of terrorism.
Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Texas, plowed through a crowd with a rented Ford pickup truck and fired at two officers after exiting the vehicle around 3:15 a.m. local time Wednesday morning in the French Quarter neighborhood of New Orleans, a prime destination for the holiday. He was shot and killed by police.
A handgun and AR-style rifle were recovered after the shootout, the Associated Press reported. Multiple media outlets identified the killer before the FBI’s official statement.
New Orleans mayor LaToya Cantrell described the incident as a “terrorist attack,” though her statement was later contradicted by an FBI special agent who said it was not a “terrorist event.” The differing information came shortly before the FBI said it was investigating the mass casualty event as a terrorist act.
There was at least one improvised explosive device found in the truck, and more devices were discovered in the area. Explosions could be heard in the French Quarter as law enforcement detonated reportedly viable IEDs.
President Joe Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland were both briefed on the developing situation Wednesday morning.
Speaking with the mayor, Biden pledged “full federal support” to New Orleans hours following the attack, White House officials indicated. The sitting president denounced the attack later Wednesday morning.
“There is no justification for violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation’s communities,” Biden said in a statement.
President-elect Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) also responded to the tragedy, with both calling the attack an “act of pure evil” on social media.
Trump suggested that the suspect entered the U.S. illegally at Eagle Pass, Texas, after Fox News reported the pickup truck used in the attack was tracked crossing the southern border on November 16. An Army veteran, Jabbar was born in the U.S.
The truck reportedly bore a Texas license plate and was rented through the car-sharing app Turo. Officials are “working to confirm how the subject came into possession of the vehicle,” the FBI said.
In the aftermath of the attack, the New Orleans police is on high alert for potential threats. Originally scheduled for Wednesday night, the Sugar Bowl has been postponed for 24 hours. The annual college football game, this year between the University of Georgia and the University of Notre Dame, will be played Thursday evening.
During the press conference several hours after the attack, Louisiana governor Jeff Landry issued an emergency declaration to bring together federal, state, and local resources. The Republican governor revealed that he planned on declaring a state of emergency ahead of February’s Super Bowl, which will be held in New Orleans.
“Ironically, in preparation for the Super Bowl, I had intended to issue an emergency declaration tomorrow so that we could bring all our federal, state and local agencies to bear in preparation for the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras,” Landry said, “but because of the events today, I have amended that emergency declaration and issued it today.”