Nearly a Week After New Year’s Attack, Details of How Shooter Planned Attack are Revealed
Nearly a week after Shamsud-din Jabbar rammed a pickup truck into a busy crowd celebrating New Year’s in New Orleans, killing 14, details of how he planned the attack are becoming clearer.
According to investigators, Jabbar, who acted alone and was radicalized, was preparing the Bourbon Street attack for months. He visited the city multiple times in the months prior, bringing firearms and homemade explosive devices with him.
Jabbar stayed at an Airbnb in New Orleans beginning October 30 for at least two days, using Meta smart glasses to record video while bicycling through the French Quarter. He also visited the city on November 10, but officials are still piecing together the details of that trip.
On November 30, Jabbar rented an Airbnb in the St. Roch neighborhood, about 1.5 miles away from the scene of the attack. Shortly after midnight on New Year’s Day, he set fire to the rental home, attempting to burn it down and hide evidence of his crimes.
Jabbar also constructed two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and placed them in coolers on Bourbon Street, but they failed to detonate. Officials believe Jabbar brought supplies, including coolers and firearms, with him from Texas, where he visited a gun store and bought one of the ice chests used to hide the IEDs.
The rented electric Ford F-150 pickup truck was seen in Gonzalez, Louisiana, around 9 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, and Jabbar was seen unloading the truck outside the Airbnb in New Orleans around 10 p.m. Shortly after midnight, he set fire to the house, drove to the French Quarter, and placed the coolers containing his homemade IEDs on the street.
Around 3:15 a.m., Jabbar drove up Canal Street, took a sharp right onto Bourbon Street, and rammed the 6,000-pound truck into a crowd celebrating the new year. Fourteen people were killed and dozens were injured.
