The suspect, Shamsuddin Jabbar, was a 42-year-old veteran from Texas who served in the U.S. Army from 2007 to 2015, including a deployment to Afghanistan. He was honorably discharged but had disciplinary issues during his service. Jabbar had a background in real estate and IT, with ventures that recently went defunct. He was divorced and had a child. Investigators found an ISIS flag in his vehicle, and President Biden stated he was inspired by ISIS, posting videos expressing a desire to kill hours before the attack.
The suspect drove around police cruisers parked at the intersection, as the automatic bollards on Bourbon Street had been non-functional for some time. The city was in the process of repairing them ahead of the Super Bowl, but the repairs were incomplete. This allowed the suspect to drive onto the sidewalk and into the crowded street.
Both incidents involved rented trucks and occurred in tourist-heavy areas on the same day. The vehicles were rented using the same app, Turo. However, there is no concrete evidence linking the two events beyond these superficial similarities. Investigators are exploring possible connections but have not confirmed any direct link.
The explosion was caused by gasoline canisters and large fireworks mortars found in the truck's bed. Police are unsure how the explosion was ignited but noted that the sturdy bed of the truck partially contained the blast, preventing damage to the Trump Hotel's windows.
A joint terrorism task force is investigating the explosion, which killed the driver and injured seven others. The truck was rented in Colorado, and authorities are working to confirm if the renter and driver are the same person. No motive has been identified, and the FBI has stated they believe the incident is isolated with no ongoing threat to the community.
Elon Musk praised the sturdiness of the Tesla Cybertruck, stating it was the wrong vehicle for a terrorist attack. Tesla assisted the investigation by providing tracking data from charging stations and video footage from stops. Authorities have not yet classified the explosion as a terrorist attack.
The FBI investigates a New Orleans attack that killed 15 as an "act of terrorism." Bomb techs join the probe at the suspect's Texas home. Law enforcers seek possible connections to a Las Vegas truck explosion.*For more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter).Today's episode of Up First was edited by Susanna Capelouto, Gigi Douban, Jan Johnson, and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Kaity Kline, Ben Abrams and Julie Depenbrock. We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. And our technical director is Stacey Abbott.*Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices)NPR Privacy Policy)