Deadly New Orleans truck driver may not have acted alone, had ISIS flag Reuters

By Brian Thevenot

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) – A U.S. Army veteran with an ISIS flag on his truck drove into New Orleans’ busy French Quarter on New Year’s Day, killing at least 10 people and police are searching for others. He was involved in placing explosives in the area.

At least 35 people were injured in the attack at 3:15 a.m. (0915 GMT), near the intersection of Canal and Bourbon streets, a historic tourist destination where people ring in the New Year with its music and bars. The driver died in a shootout with police after plowing into the crowd with his pickup truck, officials said.

Police have identified the suspect as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a US citizen from Texas. Officials said the death toll could rise.

Surveillance video shows three men and a woman planting landmines in the French Quarter, the Associated Press reported, citing Louisiana State Police intelligence.

The same ad said the devices were hidden in refrigerators and wired for remote detonation, and a remote control was found in the suspect vehicle, the AP reported.

New Orleans’ annual New Year’s Day college football game, the Sugar Bowl, was postponed for 24 hours as police searched parts of the city for explosives and combed neighborhoods for clues. The city will also be the site of the NFL Super Bowl on February 9.

‘Suspicious Area’

The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced that an ISIS flag was found on the rented car.

“We do not believe Jabbar is solely responsible. We will aggressively eliminate every lead, including his known associates,” FBI Assistant Special Agent Alethea Duncan told reporters.

Public records show Jabbar worked in real estate in Houston. In a promotional video posted four years ago, Jabbar said he was born and raised in Beaumont, about 80 miles (130 km) east of Houston, and spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as a human resources and IT specialist.

According to Jabbar, the army was where he learned the importance of great service and to take the matter seriously.

“So I’ve taken those skills and applied them to my career as a real estate agent, where I feel that what sets me apart from other agents is my ability to be a strong negotiator,” he said. Video.

An FBI official said she believed Duncan was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army, which did not immediately respond to a Reuters request to confirm his service history.

When asked how many possible accomplices, the FBI said it was a “number of suspects” and urged anyone who had contact with Jabbar in the past 72 hours to contact authorities.

Investigators found weapons and an explosive device in the vehicle, and two other explosive devices were found and secured in the French Quarter, the FBI said.

‘Noisy and Dirty’

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

“There were people everywhere,” Kimberly Strickland said in an interview. “You hear this roar and the revving of the engine and this huge impact and then the crowd screaming and the wreckage – just metal – the sound of metal and bodies breaking.”

About 400 officers were on duty in the French Quarter at the time of the incident, including several officers who set up a temporary barricade to prevent anyone driving into the pedestrian zone, police said.

“This is not just an act of terrorism, it’s evil,” Police Chief Ann Kirkpatrick told reporters. Two policemen were injured in the shooting and are in stable condition, she said.

In response to vehicular attacks on pedestrian malls around the world, New Orleans has been removing and replacing metal barriers, known as bollards, that restrict vehicular traffic along Bourbon Street.

Construction began in November and was on track to be completed in time for the Super Bowl, officials said. Meanwhile, police vehicles and officers tried to provide a barrier, Kirkpatrick said.

“This particular terrorist was driving and turned around on the sidewalk and went hard on his target,” Kirkpatrick said.

While mass shootings are largely a threat in the United States, car bombings have been used to kill civilians in the United States and around the world.

Last month, a 50-year-old man in Germany was charged with murder and attempted murder after police said he plowed a car into a crowd at a Magdeburg Christmas market, killing five people and injuring several others.