FBI Describes New Orleans Truck Attack as an ‘Evil Act’ of Terrorism by Lone Perpetrator

January 2, 2025 TruthUSA

The FBI announced that the individual responsible for the tragic truck incident in New Orleans, which resulted in the deaths of at least 14 people, likely operated independently.

A senior official from the FBI informed journalists on Jan. 2 that the suspect, who drove a truck into a gathering of New Year’s celebrators, leading to the deaths of over a dozen individuals, is believed to have acted alone while executing an “evil act” of terror.

Christopher Raia, the deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counter-terrorism division, stated during a press conference in New Orleans on Thursday that the attack resulted in 14 fatalities and at least 35 injuries, characterizing it as a “senseless attack.”

Shamsud-Din Jabbar from Texas has been named as the perpetrator of this horrific event, which occurred around 3:15 a.m. on Jan. 1 as New Year’s festivities were concluding on Bourbon Street. According to officials, Jabbar was killed in a confrontation with police following the incident where he drove into a throng of party-goers and opened fire at law enforcement.

“Let me be very clear on this matter,” Raia remarked at the press briefing. “This was an act of terrorism.”

Raia indicated that investigators have received hundreds of tips regarding the incident and although they are diligently pursuing these leads, the process will require time. Nevertheless, at this point in the investigation, the FBI does not believe that Jabbar had any collaborators in what Raia described as a calculated “evil act.”

“We currently do not assess that any entities other than Shamsud-Din Jabbar are involved in this attack,” Raia stated.

Raia noted that Jabbar is suspected to have rented a Ford F-150 pickup truck in Houston on Dec. 30. Following this, he drove to New Orleans on Dec. 31, posting multiple videos online expressing his allegiance to ISIS, including a final video shared on his Facebook page at 3:02 a.m., just minutes prior to the tragic attack.

In one video, Jabbar admitted that he had initially intended to harm his own family and friends but changed his mind due to concerns that the media coverage would not highlight the “war between the believers and the disbelievers,” Raia explained. He also allegedly mentioned in one of the videos that he had joined ISIS before the summer of 2024.

In a previous update, the FBI indicated that they had not dismissed the possibility of Jabbar acting independently. Alethea Duncan, an FBI special agent for New Orleans, had told reporters on Jan. 1 that Jabbar, a U.S. citizen, might have had accomplices, urging the public to provide any useful information relating to the suspect. The names of the 14 victims killed in the attack have not yet been released by officials.

Raia also remarked in the Jan. 2 briefing that the FBI uncovered “no definitive link” between the attack associated with Jabbar and a truck explosion that occurred outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.

In that incident, seven individuals suffered minor injuries when a Tesla Cybertruck exploded early on Jan. 1 outside the hotel of President-elect Donald Trump. Video evidence showed remnants of burnt fireworks mortars, canisters, and other explosives packed in the truck’s bed. Despite the explosion, the truck’s bed walls remained intact, as the blast was directed upward instead of outward.

In a statement on X, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk claimed that “We have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself.”

“All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion.”

In a different post, he described the incident as “a terrorist attack.”

During the Jan. 2 press conference in New Orleans, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry extended his condolences to the families of the victims and stated that additional law enforcement resources have been deployed to the area to assist with the ongoing investigation.

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