The attack occurred on New Year’s Eve at 3:15 a.m. (local time, 10:15 a.m. CET), when many people were celebrating the New Year in the French Quarter, which is popular with tourists. According to the FBI, after his death drive, the attacker exchanged fire with the police and was killed and two officers were injured.
Investigators identified the suspected perpetrator as 42-year-old US citizen Shamsud-Din Jabbar from Texas. They found a flag of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist militia in his pickup truck. The FBI is working to “determine the individual’s possible memberships and connections to terrorist organizations,” the federal police said in a statement.
“We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible,” said FBI special agent Alethea Duncan. The police not only discovered suspected homemade explosive devices in his car. Two explosive devices were also planted in the French Quarter itself and were defused.
According to the FBI, Jabbar was a former US soldier. He appears to have been honorably discharged from the Army, but that is still under review, Duncan said.
Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick said the man was trying to “run over as many people as possible.” He was “determined” to cause a “bloodbath” and drove the vehicle into the crowd at “very high speed” and apparently “very deliberately”.
Eyewitness Jim Mowrer reported on CBS News that the white pickup truck ran over people “at high speed.” “We were in the middle of the street and were able to run onto the sidewalk and hide in the entrance of a building. We heard gunshots and saw police officers running,” Mowrer said. When no more shots were heard, he came out of hiding. There were many injured and dead people lying on the street.
Outgoing US President Joe Biden said there was no justification for violence of any kind. “We will not tolerate any attacks on any of our country’s communities,” Biden said. He assured the city on the Mississippi in the state of Louisiana the “unrestricted support” of the federal authorities.
The future US President Donald Trump linked the attack in New Orleans to illegal migration. “When I said that the criminals coming into the country are much worse than the criminals we have in the country… it has come true,” Trump wrote on his online service Truth Social.
The sequence of the attack was reminiscent of the attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg on December 20th, in which the suspect killed five people and injured more than 200 others with his car.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) was shocked. “This is bad news that is reaching us from New Orleans,” explained Scholz on the online service The federal government mourns with the families and friends of the victims and wishes all those injured a speedy recovery.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on New Orleans, founded by French settlers at the beginning of the 18th century, is particularly important to the French. This city has now been “shattered by terrorism”.
New Orleans is one of the most popular travel destinations in the USA. The police were on duty with a large contingent at the turn of the year. The French Quarter hosted many New Year’s Eve parties, including LGBTQ parties and a drag show. The Sugar Bowl, a football game scheduled for New Year’s Day, has been postponed.
