New Orleans attacker was a lone perpetrator

Terror on New Year’s Eve

FBI: New Orleans attacker was a lone perpetrator

A serious terrorist attack in the south of the USA shocks the country. Little by little, new details come to light. And in a few places the police are revising previous information.

According to police, the New Orleans attacker was a lone perpetrator. At this point in time, investigators assume that the man named Shamsud-Din J. acted alone, the FBI said at a press conference. The suspected Islamist drove a car into a crowd in the southern US city on New Year’s Day night, killing 14 people and being shot dead by police.

The FBI initially looked for possible accomplices and said it did not believe the perpetrator was “solely responsible.” The federal police have now revised that. Christopher Raia of the FBI in New Orleans said investigators interviewed hundreds of people, combed social media and went through multiple phones and computers. “We now have a much better picture.” According to the current status of the investigation, there is no further danger to the population.

The federal police also revised the death toll downwards. The FBI had originally spoken of 15 people who had lost their lives at the hands of the assassin. Raia now made it clear that 14 innocent people died in the attack. 35 others were injured.

A few hours after midnight on New Year’s morning, the perpetrator drove a white pickup truck through the crowd of celebrating passers-by in the French Quarter district, which is also popular with tourists. He took advantage of a security gap: According to a media report, there were no bollards that could have stopped the pickup truck. The bollards were scheduled to be replaced in preparation for the Super Bowl, which New Orleans will host on February 9th. The man drove around a police car that was supposed to block access instead, the New York Times reported, citing authorities.

The FBI classifies the crime as an act of terrorism. The perpetrator was therefore a supporter of the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS). According to police, he was a US citizen and ex-soldier. The New York Times reported that J. had difficulty adjusting to civilian life after leaving the military. During his military career he worked primarily as an IT specialist. He served in the US military from 2007 to 2015 and was once deployed to Afghanistan.

The FBI released a photo of the man and asked the public for information about him. An IS flag was found in his car. According to the FBI, there were also weapons in the vehicle. Possible explosive devices were also discovered in the car and outside the vehicle.

FBI representative Raia said that according to the investigation so far, the perpetrator rented the vehicle in Houston, Texas, on December 30 and drove from there to New Orleans. During the trip, he posted several videos on social media in which he expressed his support for IS. According to his own statements, J. joined IS in the summer.

In one of the videos, police said the man explained that his original intention was to harm his family and friends, but he was concerned that the headlines would not focus on the “war between believers and non-believers.” The perpetrator also left a will.

According to the FBI, interviews with people close to him are continuing. “What I can tell you right now is that he was 100 percent inspired by IS,” emphasized Raia. “This was a terrorist act. It was a deliberate and evil act.”

At the same time, the FBI representative emphasized that there is currently no connection between the attack in New Orleans and the explosion of a Tesla cyber truck in Las Vegas on New Year’s morning. However, the investigation is still in its early stages.

Hours after the terrorist attack in New Orleans, a Tesla cybertruck exploded in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas. US investigators are examining a possible connection between the two incidents. According to police, one person in the vehicle was killed in the explosion and seven others were slightly injured. Investigators found charred remains of gasoline cans and fireworks in the back of the burned-out Tesla.