January 6, 2025
All investigative details and evidence that we have now still support that Jabbar acted alone here in New Orleans. 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.
FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia in a press conference Sunday regarding the suspect in the deadly New Orleans attack. Raia also revealed that the suspect visited the city twice before carrying out the New Year’s Day attack.
Why It Matters: While investigators believe that Shamsud-Din Jabbar was inspired by the terrorist Islamic State group to carry out the attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day, evidence continues to suggest that he acted alone. During his October and November trips to New Orleans, the suspect surveilled the French Quarter while using Meta smart glasses to record video.
Meanwhile, local law firm Maples and Connick announced they are filing suit against the City of New Orleans and the New Orleans Police Department. They called the attack “both foreseeable and preventable,” saying the city and police department’s “failure to implement basic safety precautions for citizens and visitors” allowed the suspect to kill 14 people in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day.
Of Note: Records released by the U.S. Army on Sunday show that Master Sgt. Matthew Alan Livelsberger, who exploded a Tesla Cybertruck outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day, and Shamsud-Din Jabbar briefly served at Fort Liberty (formerly known as Fort Bragg) at the same time, though under two different units. (Fort Liberty is one of the largest Army bases in the U.S.) They were also deployed to Afghanistan within the same time frame, but it is still unknown which parts of the country they were in. There is still no evidence to suggest the two incidents are connected.
Read More: Man behind New Year’s attack visited New Orleans before, recorded video with smart glasses, FBI says (AP)
Army records show brief career overlaps between New Orleans and Las Vegas suspects (CNN)
Image Credit: Scott Threlkeld / The Times-Picayune / The New Orleans Advoate via AP
by Stephanie Wagner, based in Florida
