NEW ORLEANS (Diya TV) — A carnage unfolded early Wednesday morning in New Orleans’ French Quarter when a driver rammed a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens.
The suspect is identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42 years old and from Texas, who drove a white Ford F-150 Lightning pickup truck emblazoned with an ISIS flag. The driver maneuvered the vehicle through traffic before heading onto Bourbon Street, where he struck pedestrians. He exited the vehicle after crashing and began firing at police who had arrived on the scene to engage him in a shootout. Two officers have been reported to be in stable condition.
Law enforcement authorities have confirmed that Jabbar died after a shootout with police. The FBI considers it to be an incident involving terrorism, as there was an ISIS flag in the vehicle. Other evidence which investigators are scrutinizing is possible links to ISIS: weapons and other manifestations of possible IEDs found in the automobile.
This was during the celebrations of New Year, where people throng on Bourbon Street for such festivals. It brought a black day to the town’s revelries and gave public safety issues an upper hand in the headlines. The police responded by putting on more stringent security measures while the public was warned against visiting that region.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell condemned the attack, terming it a “terrorist act.” She offered her condolences to the victims and their families and pledged full cooperation with federal authorities in the investigation.
The White House has reached out to New Orleans officials to extend its support, and President Biden has been informed about the attack.
The incident has led to talks on bolstering security measures for future events, such as the Sugar Bowl college football game set to take place in the city. The game was pushed to Thursday to ensure more security measures are in place. New Orleans is also playing host to the Super Bowl in February.
