At least 15 people were killed in New Orleans when a driver plowed his pickup truck through a busy street in the early hours of New Years Day.
Dozens more were injured in the horrific attack and now CCTV footage shows the horrifying moment the suspect, who has been identified as Texan Shamsud-Din Jabbar, rammed his car through the busy street.
The former US veteran, who served in Afghanistan, is believed to have tied an ISIS flag to the back of his truck which he rented – while the FBI is investigating the attack as an ‘act of terrorism’.
The agency does not believe the 42-year-old acted alone, adding that he may not be ‘solely responsible’.
The twice-married Jabbar was killed during a gun fight with authorities and is understood to have created a series of recordings of him which state that he had joined ISIS, FBI officials briefed on the investigation stated.
The FBI released a statement yesterday (January 1), which read in part: “Today, at approximately 3:15 a.m. CST, an individual drove a pickup truck into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing at least 10 and injuring dozens of others.
“After hitting the crowd, he exited the vehicle and fired upon local law enforcement. Law enforcement returned fire, and the subject was pronounced deceased at the scene. Two law enforcement officers were injured and transported to a local hospital.
“The subject has been identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Texas. He was driving a Ford pickup truck, which appears to have been rented, and we are working to confirm how the subject came into possession of the vehicle.”
People are being advised to stay away from the area (CBS News)
It continued: “An ISIS flag was located in the vehicle, and the FBI is working to determine the subject’s potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations.
“Weapons and a potential IED were located in the subject’s vehicle. Other potential IEDs were also located in the French Quarter.
“The FBI’s special agent bomb technicians are working with our law enforcement partners to determine if any of these devices are viable, and they will work to render those devices safe.
“The FBI is the lead investigative agency, and we are working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism. We are aggressively running down all leads to identify any possible associates of the subject.”
Meanwhile New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick, explained that Jabbar managed to access the sidewalk by driving around barricades and police vehicles.
