New Orleans attack latest: 14 killed; Police don't believe any other suspects involved, FBI says
Suspect also killed in shootout with police during New Year's Day attack on Bourbon Street.
Authorities no longer believe there are any other suspects involved in the New Year's truck attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans that killed 14 people and injured 35 others, the FBI said Thursday.
After investigators reviewed all of the surveillance videos more closely, it appears that the suspect -- 42-year-old Army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who also died in the attack -- placed explosive devices in the area himself and then changed clothes, multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News.
The FBI is still investigating whether there were individuals Jabbar spoke to or messaged with prior to the early Wednesday attack, but no one was in the vicinity to help him do anything, the sources said.
The FBI is still investigating whether there were individuals Jabbar spoke to or messaged with prior to the early Wednesday attack, but no one was in the vicinity to help him do anything, the sources said.
"Federal law enforcement and the intelligence community are actively investigating any foreign or domestic contacts in connection that could possibly be relevant to the attack," President Joe Biden said Thursday.
There is no additional threat to the public, Christopher Raia of the FBI said.
Raia called the attack a premeditated "act of terrorism."
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry on Thursday compared the investigation to a jigsaw puzzle.
Over 400 tips have been submitted and investigators are combing through Jabbar's laptops and phones, Raia said. More than 1,000 law enforcement officers have been "pouring over countless amounts of data, of videos, of surveillances, interviews, tracking down every possible lead," Landry said.
Jabbar drove from Houston to New Orleans on Tuesday evening and posted several videos online "proclaiming his support for ISIS," and mentioning he joined ISIS before this summer, Raia said.
"There were five videos posted on Jabbar's Facebook account, which are time stamped beginning at 1:29 a.m. and the last at 3:02 a.m.," Raia said. "In the first video, Jabbar explains he originally planned to harm his family and friends, but was concerned the news headlines would not focus on the 'war between the believers and the disbelievers.'"
An ISIS flag was recovered from the back of the truck, Raia said.
The death toll is not expected to rise beyond 14 people, Dr. Jeffrey Elder of the University Medical Center New Orleans told ABC News Live on Thursday. Sixteen people remain hospitalized at University Medical Center New Orleans, including eight in intensive care.
Jabbar was "hell-bent" on killing as many people as possible, driving a pickup truck onto the sidewalk around a parked police car serving as a barricade to plow into pedestrians, officials said.
The suspect mowed down dozens of people over a three-block stretch on the world-famous thoroughfare while firing into the crowd, police said.
Jabbar then exited the damaged vehicle armed with an assault rifle and opened fire on police officers, law enforcement said. He was also armed with a handgun, sources told ABC News.
Officers returned fire, killing Jabbar, a U.S.-born citizen from Texas, sources said. At least two officers were injured, one by gunfire and the other when the officer was pinned by the truck, authorities said.
New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said security bollards were not working at the time because they were in the process of being replaced for next month's Super Bowl.
Surveillance footage showed Jabbar placing two improvised explosive devices in coolers in the Bourbon Street area, Raia said. He had a remote detonator in the truck to set off the two devices, Biden said.
"Those are the only two devices that we've been able to recover that were functional -- both devices were rendered safe on scene," he said.
Authorities have conducted search warrants in New Orleans and outside of Louisiana, the FBI's New Orleans field office said.
A home in Houston was among those searched. The FBI in Houston said "there is no threat to residents in that area."
Raia urged anyone who knew Jabbar to come forward.
"While we have interviewed many people who know Jabbar, we still need to talk to others," he said. "Whether you know Jabbar personally, worked with him, served in the military or saw him in New Orleans or Texas, we need to talk to you."
He said police also want to speak with witnesses who were in the French Quarter on New Year's Eve or early on New Year's Day.
Authorities finished processing the scene early Thursday morning, removing the last of the bodies, and Bourbon Street reopened by early afternoon.
President Joe Biden saluted New Orleans' "tremendous spirit" following the attack
"[New Orleans] can't keep it down. It really can't, and we're seeing that today. The Sugar Bowl is back on," Biden said at an unrelated White House event. He noted that Bourbon Street had reopened with reinforced security the day after the attack.
"The people of New Orleans are sending an unmistakable message. They will not let this attack or the attacker's deluded ideology overcome us," Biden said.
The Sugar Bowl college football game between Notre Dame and Georgia, initially set for Wednesday night and postponed by a day in the interest of national security, kicked off Thursday afternoon. The city planned to host the Super Bowl next month.
"This is one of the safest places on earth," Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said. "It doesn't mean that nothing can't happen."
There's no apparent direct connection between the New Orleans attack and Wednesday's Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas, which is being investigated as a possible act of terror, Raia from the FBI said Thursday.
"They have not found any evidence of such a connection thus far -- I've directed them to keep looking," Biden said Thursday.
The Las Vegas driver was killed and seven bystanders suffered minor injuries, authorities said. The motive behind the incident remains under investigation, but investigators told ABC News they believe it was "intentional."
The Cybertruck was rented via the Turo app, as was the truck used in the New Orleans attack, sources told ABC News.
The Cybertruck driver had an Army special operations background but there's no evidence suggesting he and the New Orleans suspect knew each other, according to officials.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
