New York: The man who rammed a pickup into New Year’s revelers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans was an American Army veteran, ‘inspired by’ the Islamic State terrorist organization, ISIS President Biden said on Wednesday night while addressing from Camp David.
Merely hours before the attack, the accused—identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar—posted videos on social media indicating that he was inspired by ISIS, especially the ‘desire to kill,’ the outgoing President said. Biden also claimed that the ISIS flag was found in his vehicle. “He had served in the Army reserve until a few years ago,” he said, adding Shamsud-Din Jabbar was an American citizen, born in Texas.
🚨 #BREAKING: Joe Biden reveals the New Orleans attacker was “inspired by ISIS,” and posted multiple videos on social media “expressing a desire to kiII”
THE FBI DIDN’T CATCH THIS? pic.twitter.com/q8S6GO4Gu3
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) January 2, 2025
According to reports, Biden had been briefed on the New Orleans attacker’s posts by federal investigators. The FBI investigators are looking into the accused’s possible ties to the Islamic State. The accused, Jabbar, died in a shootout by cops.
Jabbar served almost eight years in the Army, including a deployment to Afghanistan, and was honorably discharged. He recently converted to Islam and began behaving erratically, according to his ex-wife’s husband, reported the New York Post. An Islamic State flag, weapons and a potential explosive device were found in the truck that he reportedly used in the attack that killed at least 15.
Rental link between Cybertruck & New Orleans attacks
The FBI are looking into possible links between the blast of Tesla’s cybertruck at Las Vegas and the New Orleans attack. The trucks used in the attack in New Orleans and the explosion in Las Vegas were both rented through Turo, a peer-to-peer rental app, the New York Post reported.
Both men chose soft targets on New Year’s Day, a fact that investigators were looking at.