Pilot Flying ISIS Flag Crashes Into New Orleans Crowd, Killing 15; could have had help from Reuters

By Brian Thevenot

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) – A U.S. Army veteran flying an ISIS flag from his truck swerved around makeshift barriers and plowed into New Orleans’ crowded French Quarter on New Year’s Day, killing 15 people in an attack that officials said may have been carried out with the help of others.

The suspect, identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a US citizen from Texas who once served in Afghanistan, was killed in a shootout with police after charging into the crowd.

The attack injured about 30 other people, including two police officers wounded by gunshots from the suspect. It happened around 3:15 am (0915 GMT) near the intersection of Canal and Bourbon Streets, a historic tourist destination known for its music and bars where crowds celebrated the New Year.

The police and political leaders have promised to catch any accomplices.

Police found weapons and a potential explosive in the vehicle, while two potential explosives were found in the French Quarter and made safe, the FBI said.

With the perceived danger going on, officials postponed the Sugar Bowl, a classic college football game played in New Orleans every year on New Year’s Day. The game between Notre Dame and Georgia was postponed until Thursday afternoon as police swept parts of the city for possible explosives and converged on neighborhoods looking for clues.

The city also hosted the NFL Super Bowl on February 9.

An ISIS flag was attached to a stick protruding from the rental vehicle’s trailer hitch, prompting an investigation into possible ties to terrorist organizations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said.

“We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible. We aggressively pursued every lead, including those of his known associates,” FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan told reporters, adding that investigators were looking into a ” range of suspects”. “

The victims included the mother of a 4-year-old boy who had just moved into a new apartment after getting a promotion at work, a New York financial clerk and accomplished student athlete who was visiting home for the holidays, and an 18 years former aspiring nurse from Mississippi.

BIDEN CONDEMNS THE ATTACK

US President Joe Biden condemned what he called a “despicable” act and said investigators were looking into whether there might be a link to a Tesla (NASDAQ: ) truck fire outside a hotel Trump in Las Vegas. So far, there was no evidence linking the two events, Biden said.

“The FBI also told me that, just hours before the attack, he posted videos on social media that indicated he was inspired by ISIS, expressing a desire to kill,” Biden said of the New Orleans suspect. .

CNN, citing officials briefed on the investigation, said the suspect recorded videos in which he mentioned dreams of joining ISIS and plans to kill his family after a divorce.

ISIS – also called the Islamic State or ISIL – is a Muslim militant group that once imposed a reign of terror on millions of people in Iraq and Syria until it collapsed after a military campaign supported by a coalition led by the United States.

Although it has been weakened in the field, ISIS has continued to recruit sympathizers online, experts say.

Public records show Jabbar worked in real estate in Houston. In a promotional video released four years ago, Jabbar described himself as born and raised in Beaumont, a city about 80 miles (130 km) east of Houston, and said he spent 10 years in the military American as a specialist in human resources and IT.

Jabbar was in the regular Army from March 2007 until January 2015 and then in the Army Reserve from January 2015 to July 2020, an Army spokesman said. He was deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010 and held the rank of staff sergeant at the end of the service.

“Scream and Debris”

Mike and Kimberly Strickland of Mobile, Alabama, said they were in New Orleans for a bluegrass concert and headed to their hotel just 20 yards (meters) from where the truck hit some pedestrians.

“There were people everywhere,” Kimberly Strickland said in an interview. “You just heard this screeching sound and the rev of the engine and this very loud impact and then people screaming and debris – just metal – the sound of metal crunching and bodies.”

About 400 officers were on duty in the French Quarter at the time of the incident, including a number who had set up a makeshift barrier to prevent anyone from driving into the pedestrian zone, police said.

In response to vehicular attacks on the World Trade Centers, New Orleans was in the process of removing and replacing the steel barriers known as bollards that limit vehicular traffic in the Bourbon area. Street.

Construction was supposed to be finished in time for the Super Bowl. As a temporary measure, police vehicles and officers tried to provide a barrier, Kirkpatrick said.

“We actually had a plan, but the terrorist defeated it,” Kirkpatrick said.