NEW ORLEANS — A driver wrought carnage on New Orleans' famed French Quarter early on New Year's Day, killing 10 people as he rammed a pickup truck into a crowd before being shot to death by police, authorities said.
More than 30 people were injured as Wednesday's attack turned festive Bourbon Street into macabre mayhem. The FBI is investigating it as an act of terrorism and said it does not believe the driver acted alone. An Islamic State group flag was found on the vehicle's trailer hitch, the FBI said.
Investigators also found guns and pipe bombs, which were concealed within coolers, according to a Louisiana State Police intelligence bulletin obtained by The Associated Press. Both devices were wired for remote detonation, and a corresponding remote control was discovered inside the suspect’s truck, the bulletin said.
The FBI identified the driver as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a U.S. citizen from Texas and said it is working to determine Jabbar's potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations.
“We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible," Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, said at a news conference.
Duncan said Jabbar was an Army veteran, who they believe were honorably discharged - but were working to confirm that.
Jabbar was killed by police after he exited the vehicle and opened fire on officers, police said. Two officers were shot and are in stable condition, police said. They were in addition to 33 people injured in the vehicle attack.
A photo circulated among law enforcement officials showed a bearded Jabbar wearing camouflage next to the truck after he was killed. The attack happened around 3:15 a.m. in an area teeming with New Year’s revelers.
Investigators recovered a handgun and an AR-style rifle after the shootout, a law enforcement official said. The official was not authorized to discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The FBI said a potential improvised explosive device was located in the vehicle and other potential explosive devices were also located in the French Quarter.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell described the killings as a “terrorist attack.”
New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said the driver was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did.”
“It was very intentional behavior. This man was trying to run over as many people as he could,” Kirkpatrick said.
New Orleans city councilmember Helena Moreno told WWL-TV that after being briefed on the attack, she understands that “there is a potential that other suspects could be involved in this and all hands on deck on determining who these individuals are and finding them."
The area is a prime New Year’s Eve destination, and tens of thousands of college football fans were in the city for Wednesday night’s Sugar Bowl playoff quarterfinal between Georgia and Notre Dame at the nearby Superdome.
“When I got to work this morning, it was kind of pandemonium everywhere,” Derick Fleming, chief bellhop at a downtown hotel, told The Associated Press. “There were a couple of bodies on the ground covered up. Police were looking for bombs in garbage cans.”
University of Georgia President Jere Morehead said a student was critically injured in the attack and is receiving medical treatment.
Zion Parsons told NOLA.com that he and two friends were leaving a Bourbon Street restaurant when he heard a “commotion” and “banging” and turned his head to see a vehicle barreling onto the pavement toward them. He dodged the vehicle, but it struck one of his friends.
“I yell her name, and I turn my head, and her leg is twisted and contorted above and around her back. And there was just blood,” Parsons said. The 18-year-old said he ran after hearing gunshots shortly thereafter.
“As you’re walking down the street, you can just look and see bodies, just bodies of people, just bleeding, broken bones,” he said. “I just ran until I couldn’t hear nothing no more.”
Bourbon Street has had barriers to prevent vehicle attacks since 2017, but Wednesday’s rampage happened amid a major project to remove and replace the devices, which left the area vulnerable. Work began in November and was expected to be largely wrapped up in time for the Super Bowl in the city in February.
Hours after the attack, several coroner’s office vans were parked on the corner of Bourbon and Canal streets, cordoned off by police tape with crowds of dazed tourists standing around, some trying to navigate their luggage through the labyrinth of blockades.
“We looked out our front door and saw caution tape and dead silence and it’s eerie,” said Tessa Cundiff, an Indiana native who moved to the French Quarter a few years ago. "This is not what we fell in love with, it’s sad.”
Elsewhere, life went on as normal in the city known to some for a motto that translates to “let the good times roll.”
Close to where the truck came to rest, some people were talking about the attack while others dressed in Georgia gear talked football. At a cafe a block away, people crowded in for breakfast as upbeat pop music played. Two blocks away, people drank at a bar, seemingly as if nothing happened.
"We recognize that there are tourists around us, and we urge all to avoid the French Quarter as this is an active investigation," Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said. “We understand the concerns of the community and want to reassure everyone that the safety of the French Quarter and the city of New Orleans remains our top priority.”
President Joe Biden, speaking to reporters in Delaware, said he felt “anger and frustration” over the attack but would refrain from further comment until more is known.
“My heart goes out to the victims and their families who were simply trying to celebrate the holiday,” Biden said in a statement. “There is no justification for violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation’s communities.”
The attack is the latest example of a vehicle being used as a weapon to carry out mass violence, a trend that has alarmed law enforcement officials and that can be difficult to protect against.
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Stephen Smith, Chevel Johnson and Brett Martel in New Orleans, Jeff Martin in Atlanta, Alanna Durkin Richer and Zeke Miller in Washington and Darlene Superville in New Castle, Delaware, contributed to this report.
