The man who crashed a van into a crowd of New Year’s Eve revelers in New Orleans suspected bomb-making materials were at his home and had booked the vehicle used in the deadly attack more than six weeks earlier , law enforcement told the Associated Press on Friday. .
Federal authorities searching Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s Houston home found a workbench in the garage and hazardous materials believed to have been used to make explosive devices, according to law enforcement officials familiar with the matter. The officials were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
The FBI investigation also revealed that Jabbar purchased a cooler in Vidor, Texas, hours before the attack, as well as gun oil from a store in Sulfur, Louisiana, officials said . Authorities also determined that Jabbar had booked his van rental on November 14, suggesting he may have been planning the attack for more than six weeks.
Authorities say 14 people were killed and around 30 others injured in the Wednesday morning attack carried out by Jabbar, a former army soldier who posted several videos on his Facebook hours before the attack, announcing the violence he would unleash and proclaiming his support for the Islamic State militant group. . The coroner’s office attributed the cause of death for all 14 victims to “blunt force injuries.”
Jabbar, 42, was fatally shot during an exchange of fire with police at the scene of the fatal crash on Bourbon Street, famous worldwide for its party atmosphere in New Orleans’ historic French Quarter .
Authorities discovered large bombs that had been planted in the neighborhood in an apparent attempt to cause more carnage. Two improvised explosive devices left in coolers several blocks apart were secured at the scene, officials said. Other devices were found to be non-functional.
Investigators recovered a transmitter from Jabbar’s rental truck intended to trigger the two bombs, the FBI said in a statement Friday. It also said authorities found bomb-making materials in the house Jabbar had rented in New Orleans before the attack. Jabbar attempted to burn the house down by starting a small fire in a hallway and placing accelerants to help it spread, the FBI said. The flames were extinguished before firefighters arrived.
As of Friday, authorities were still investigating Jabbar’s motives and how he carried out the attack. They say he got out of the wrecked truck wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet and fired at police, wounding at least two officers before being fatally shot by officers who returned fire.
New Orleans police declined to say Friday how many shots were fired by Jabbar and police or whether any bystanders may have been hit, citing the active investigation.
Stella Cziment, who heads the city’s Civilian Office of the Independent Police Observatory, said investigators are working to determine “every bullet that was fired” and whether any of them hit any passers-by.
Bourbon Street was solemn Friday. A day after the crime scene reopened to the public, locals and tourists stopped to pay their respects to the victims of the attack to the sound of bucket drums. People shed tears as they gathered at a growing memorial. Some left flowers and candles while others knelt to say a brief prayer.
“New Orleans is about having a good time, you know, just trying to live your best life,” said Tony Lightfoot, who works in Baton Rouge and was visiting New Orleans with his son. He said the attacker “just decided to disrupt all of that.
Thirteen people remained hospitalized. Eight people were in intensive care at University Medical Center in New Orleans, spokeswoman Carolina Giepert said.
The White House said President Joe Biden would travel to New Orleans on Monday to “mourn the families and community members affected by this tragic attack.”
Police used several vehicles and barricades Friday to block traffic on Bourbon and Canal streets as crowds of pedestrians grew. Other law enforcement agencies helped city officers provide additional security, said Reese Harper, a spokeswoman for the New Orleans Police Department.
The first parade of the Carnival season leading up to Mardi Gras was scheduled to take place Monday. New Orleans will also host the Super Bowl on February 9.
“This increased security effort will continue daily, not just during large events,” Harper said in a statement.
As part of a previous effort to protect the French Quarter, the city installed steel columns called bollards to restrict vehicle access to Bourbon Street. The poles retracted to allow deliveries to bars and restaurants, until, gummed up by Mardi Gras beads, beer and other detritus, they ceased to function reliably.
So when New Year’s Eve came, the terminals were gone. They were replaced before the Super Bowl.
Meanwhile, New Orleans City Council Speaker Helena Moreno has taken steps to open an investigation into the attack. In a memo to another council member obtained by AP, Moreno said she was initiating the creation of a local and state legislative committee “dedicated to examining the incident and its implications.”
“This committee will play a crucial role in evaluating our current policies, strengthening security measures, and ensuring that we are adequately prepared to respond to any future threats,” Moreno wrote.
The FBI concluded that Jabbar was not helped by anyone else in the attack, which killed, among others, an 18-year-old aspiring nurse, a single mother, a father of two and a former football star from Princeton University.
Thirteen of the 14 victims have been identified by the New Orleans coroner’s office, with the youngest 18 and the oldest 63. Most of the victims were in their 20s. One of the victims was a British citizen.
It was the deadliest ISIS-inspired attack on U.S. soil in years, laying bare what federal officials have called a resurgent international terrorism threat.
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