Suspect made 2 trips to New Orleans before deadly New Year’s Day attack: FBI

The suspect in the deadly New Year’s Day truck-ramming attack in New Orleans made two previous trips to the city in October and November, apparently scouting the best location to carry out his rampage, even using a pair of Meta smart glasses to record video of a bicycle ride through the French Quarter, the FBI said.

The suspect — Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, an Army veteran and Houston realtor — was also wearing Meta glasses when he allegedly executed the attack at 3:15 a.m. CT on Jan. 1, but apparently did not record the attack, Lyonel Myrthil, special agent in charge of the bureau’s New Orleans field office, said during a news conference on Sunday.

Myrthil said the FBI has reviewed a video showing Jabbar planting two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on the streets of the French Quarter before the attack, concealing the devices in coolers. Myrthil said one of the coolers was “unwittingly” moved from where it was planted to another location in the French Quarter by an individual who had nothing to do with the rampage.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.