Weeks before his deadly rampage in the French Quarter, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, now called the New Orleans attacker, cycled through the city wearing smart glasses, filming his surroundings, the FBI revealed.
Federal authorities disclosed Sunday that Jabbar, the man who rammed a truck into a crowd on New Year's Day, had used Meta smart glasses to record footage of the French Quarter during a bicycle ride in October. These are the same smart glasses he allegedly wore during the deadly attack months later.
Suspect Filmed City With Meta Glasses
The bureau reported that Jabbar made two trips to the southern city in October and November last year. Jabbar, a US citizen from Houston, Texas, killed 14 people, including British national Edward Pettifer, when he rammed a rented white pick-up truck into a crowd celebrating New Year's Eve on Bourbon Street in the historic French Quarter early on 1st January.
The 42-year-old former US Army soldier was subsequently killed in a shootout with police at the scene of the deadly crash. During a news conference on Sunday, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry confirmed LaTasha Polk as the fourteenth victim of the tragic incident.
He described Polk as a dedicated nursing assistant and a loving mother to a 14-year-old child. Following a vigil held on Saturday evening for the victims, relatives of those who lost their lives gathered on Bourbon Street to mourn their loss.
Drawings Created of the Victims in New Orleans 🙏🏼
— TONY™ (@TONYxTWO) January 5, 2025
This is on Bourbon Street pic.twitter.com/DPitHujIzt
The FBI reported that Jabbar made two trips to New Orleans last year. His first trip began on 30th October and lasted at least two days, during which he stayed at a rental home. He also revisited the city on 10th November.
The FBI stated that Jabbar recorded the cycling video during his first visit to New Orleans, utilising hands-free glasses developed by Meta, a leading American technology company. These glasses are designed to resemble ordinary eyewear and can record or livestream video. They are available in a variety of styles.
Jabbar was wearing a pair of Meta smart glasses during the 1st January attack, but investigators found no evidence that he activated the live streaming function. Approximately 30 others were injured in the incident. Thirteen individuals remain hospitalised, with eight of them in critical condition.
The Day Before The Attack
The FBI revealed that on 31st December, Jabbar was spotted at one of several Texas gun shops he had visited in the lead-up to the deadly attack. Later that day, he purchased an ice chest from a local business, which was subsequently used to conceal an improvised explosive device (IED).
Jabbar entered Louisiana around 2:30 PM local time (8:30 PM UK time) on 31st December, several hours before the attack. Later that evening, around 9:00 PM, his rented vehicle was spotted in Gonzales, Louisiana.
Home surveillance footage captured Jabbar unloading the white pick-up truck outside his rented residence on Mandeville Street in New Orleans at approximately 10:00 PM.
The FBI reported that at approximately 12:41 AM on 1st January, roughly three hours after arriving at his rented residence, Jabbar parked the truck and proceeded to the intersection of Royal and Governor Nicholls Streets.
Let me show you how this whole New Orleans scene doesn't add up. They put out an image of the attacker lying on the ground in broad daylight today, no sheet. The bystander images show a person in the driver's seat covered in a sheet (he's 💀) and them doing CPR on the "attacker"… pic.twitter.com/9xCwFTjNs1
— The Constitutionalist 🇺🇸 (@WeWillBeFree24) January 1, 2025
The FBI reported that at approximately 1:53 AM on New Year's Day, Jabbar placed an IED in a cooler box at the intersection of Bourbon Street and St. Peter Street. An individual on Bourbon Street, not suspected of involvement in the attack, moved the cooler box containing the IED approximately one block, where authorities subsequently located it.
At 2:20 AM, Jabbar placed a second IED, concealed within a bucket-type cooler, at the intersection of Bourbon Street and Toulouse Street. At 3:15 AM, Jabbar perpetrated a deadly attack, utilising the truck as a lethal weapon, according to the FBI.
Two IEDs, located in coolers several blocks apart, were successfully rendered safe by authorities. Shortly after 5:00 AM, a fire was reported at the rented residence on Mandeville Street in New Orleans. Upon arrival, emergency services discovered explosive devices within the property. The FBI investigation concluded that Jabbar acted alone in this incident.
Jabbar's travel history before the attack includes a trip to Cairo, Egypt, from 22nd June to 3rd July 2023, followed by a brief visit to Ontario, Canada, from 10th to 13th July. While these trips are part of the FBI's ongoing investigation, their connection to the New Orleans attack remains unclear at this time.
Rare Explosive Baffles Investigators
He posted videos on his Facebook account hours before the incident, expressing support for the Islamic State militant group. Two officials close to the investigation told NBC News, a partner of Sky News, that the two functional IEDs Jabbar placed in New Orleans contained a highly unusual explosive compound.
Timeline of the terror attack in New Orleans. pic.twitter.com/0POnbO7ET2
— Gang Hits (@GangHits) January 2, 2025
Investigators are now working to determine how he acquired the knowledge and materials to create this homemade explosive, as it has never been used in any previous terror attack or incident in the United States or Europe.
