A lone wolf terrorist turned his pickup truck into a killing machine on New Year's Eve as he plowed his vehicle down one of the most famous streets in America, leaving a trail of dead and wounded.
After his white truck, with Texas plates, came to a stop on Bourbon St. in New Orleans, the terrorist jumped out with a gun and started blazing away before he was shot dead by cops.
Police said at least 15 people were killed and 35 wounded in the 3:15 EST a.m. attack. Two police officer were also wounded by the gunman.
Explosives were also found in the trucks and nearby areas in the French Quarter.
Local media identified the killer as 42-year-old Shamsud Din Jabbar. Born in Texas, The FBI said Jabbar had an ISIS terror flag in the truck.
He had recently converted to Islam, his family said.
One bomb was found in his truck and other were found in the French Quarter.
The New York Post and Fox News reported Jabbar was raised in Texas and was in the U.S. Army Reserve from 2015 to 2020. He had a stolen Glock and a .308 rifle with him.
Authorities say writing's of Jabbar is leading them to believe the attack was ISIS-inspired.
The FBI said other suspects are involved.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry declared a state of emergency for the city.
New Orleans City Council President Helena Moreno said the suspect was in full military gear with body armour and was not local to the city.
"For those people who don't believe in objective evil, all you have to do is look at what happened in our city early this morning," said Sen. John Kennedy.
A man who knew the terrorist told the New York Times that Jabbar had converted to Islam and then began acting erratically in recent months. The concerning behavior led to him having limited contact with his children.
The New York Post visited Jabbar's house in a squalid trailer park on the outskirts of Houston.
Geese, chickens, and sheep roamed freely on the property.
The Post said Jabbar had two failed marriages which led to his financial ruin.
“The city of New Orleans was impacted by a terrorist attack,” Mayor LaToya Cantrell said early Wednesday.
“This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could,” Kirkpatrick said, adding the driver “was hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did.”
A flagpole at the back of the pickup was quickly covered by police so people couldn't see what it was.
The FBI confirmed it was an “act of terrorism.”
“This morning, an individual drove a car into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing a number of people and injuring dozens of others,” the bureau said in a statement.
“The subject then engaged with local law enforcement and is now deceased. The FBI is the lead investigative agency, and we are working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism.”
Fox reported FBI sources told them the truck came across the Eagle Pass border crossing into the United States from Mexico Nov. 16. The terrorist wasn't behind the wheel at the time..
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the situation.
Jimmy Cothran told NBC about the carnage he saw.
“Dead right in front of us was someone’s mother, twisted, obviously deceased,” he said.
“One man, deceased, had tire tracks across his back and when someone turned him over he had tire tracks across his stomach and was clearly crushed.”
“A little girl that we had seen dancing as we were walking up the street was as flat as a pillow."
The attack came hours before Sunday's College Football Playoff Sugar Bowl between Georgia and Notre Dame at the Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans. Next month, the NFL's Super Bowl will be hosted in the city.
Early Wednesday afternoon, officials announced the game had been delayed until Thursday night.
Sources told Fox the suspect in the attack was renting an Airbnb — which caught on fire Wednesday morning.
The attack came just days after a doctor from Saudi Arabia deliberately drove his vehicle through a Christmas market in Magdeburg, in eastern Germany.
Five people were killed and up to 80 injured after being hit by the black BMW.
...more to come
