The FBI released more details on Jan. 5 about the man who carried out the New Year’s Day terrorist attack in New Orleans that left 14 people dead, saying the suspect had traveled to Egypt in 2023.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, traveled to Cairo, the capital of the country, from June 22 to July 3, 2023, before flying to Canada and returning to the United States days later, the FBI said in a press conference.
He also made at least two visits to New Orleans in October and November of 2024, capturing a video on Bourbon Street—where he carried out the attack—with Meta Platforms’ smart glasses, officials said. It’s not clear whether those trips to New Orleans or overseas were connected to the attack, Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia said at the press conference.
Early on Jan. 1, Jabbar, a former U.S. Army soldier from Houston, drove a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year revelers on Bourbon Street, which is famous worldwide for its festive vibes, in New Orleans’s historic French Quarter. Police fatally shot Jabbar during a firefight at the scene of the deadly crash.
“Meta glasses appear to look like regular glasses, but they allow a user to record videos and photos hand-free,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Lyonel Myrthil said Jan. 5. “They also allow the user to potentially livestream through their video.”
Jabbar wore the glasses during his New Year’s Day attack, but they were not activated for a livestream, according to Myrthil. There was no indication that he was recording the attack at all, though the glasses were found on Jabbar.
Video footage showed Jabbar placing an improvised explosive device inside a cooler on Bourbon Street before the attack, during which he used a rented truck. The cooler was later moved by unidentified individuals, the FBI said.
“From what we’ve observed so far—what we’ve gathered through our investigation—is that [there are] unwitting individuals who move the cooler from location to location without knowledge of what is in the cooler,” Myrthil said Jan. 5, adding that Jabbar placed another explosive device in a cooler about 30 minutes later.
Federal investigators so far believe Jabbar acted alone, authorities said Jan. 5.
“All investigative details and evidence that we have now still support that Jabbar acted alone here in New Orleans,” Raia said. “We have not seen any indications of an accomplice in the United States, but we are still looking into potential associates in the U.S. and outside of our borders.”
Authorities said that Jabbar had sworn allegiance to the ISIS terrorist group, which had taken control of portions of both Syria and Iraq about a decade ago before U.S. forces largely ousted it. An ISIS flag was discovered on the hitch of the truck that Jabbar had used, officials said.
President Joe Biden confirmed that he would travel to New Orleans with First Lady Jill Biden on Monday, Jan. 6, in order to “grieve with the families and community members impacted by the tragic attack,” according to a White House statement.