FBI Unveils Photos of New Orleans Terror Suspect Just Before Attack
The FBI has announced the release of these photographs as it is ‘seeking information from the public’ about the attack.
The individual believed to have executed a terrorist attack that resulted in the deaths of 14 people in New Orleans has been captured in newly uncovered images, allegedly plotting the attack approximately an hour before it took place.
Authorities also shared an image of a cooler that contained an improvised explosive device (IED) which he reportedly placed at the intersection of Bourbon and Orleans streets on New Year’s Day.
The FBI explained that these images are being released as they are “seeking information from the public concerning the investigation into the attack on innocent victims.”
On Thursday, federal officials declared that Jabbar acted independently and was “100 percent” motivated by ISIS, a terrorist organization that controlled parts of Syria and Iraq about a decade ago. This marked a shift from a prior FBI statement suggesting he may have had accomplices.
Additionally, the FBI revealed Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Texas, had posted five videos on his Facebook account in the hours leading up to the attack, where he expressed support for the group and previewed the violence he would soon unleash in the renowned French Quarter district.
Related Stories
“This represents an act of terrorism. It was premeditated and a malevolent act,” stated Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counterterrorism division.
In addition to the fatalities and numerous injuries, Jabbar, aged 42, was killed in a confrontation with police after he drove his speeding truck around a barricade and into the crowd.
The FBI continued to pursue leads regarding Jabbar but expressed confidence early in the investigation that he did not receive assistance from others during the attack, which claimed the lives of several victims, including an 18-year-old aspiring nurse, a single mother, a father of two, and a former Princeton University football player.
Abdur-Rahim Jabbar, the suspect’s younger brother, expressed on Thursday that it “doesn’t feel real” that his sibling could have committed such an act.
“I never imagined it would be him,” he said. “It’s entirely out of character for him.”
He mentioned that though his brother had been isolated in recent years, they had been in contact recently and he had not observed any signs of radicalization.
“This is completely contradictory to who he was and how his family and friends perceive him,” he added.
FBI officials have emphasized that there is no indication linking the New Orleans terrorist attack with an explosion involving a Tesla Cybertruck that occurred in front of President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel on the same day.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
