Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the 42-year-old man who plowed his vehicle into a crowd in New Orleans in a terrorist attack on Wednesday, acted alone and had a "remote detonator" in his vehicle that would set off bombs in ice coolers he placed around the city's French Quarter, President Biden said at a White House press conference on Thursday.
The terrorist attack, which occurred on the city's crowded Bourbon Street, killed 14 people and injured dozens of others. An ISIS flag was found in the truck Jabbar used in the attack.
According to Biden, Jabbar has been identified as the man captured on video placing coolers around the French Quarter a few hours prior to the deadly attack. "[The FBI] assessed he had a remote detonator in his vehicle to set off those two ice chests," Biden said.
The explosives did not detonate, but Jabbar planted two of what the FBI called "functional" explosive devices, made from pipe and nails, inside coolers near the site of the attack, according to reporting by NBC News.
On X, the FBI released surveillance photos of Jabbar taken before the attack, and asked witnesses to come forward with any information about Jabbar or the coolers.
Newly released surveillance photos show Shamsud- Din Jabbar a little more than an hour before the deadly Bourbon Street attack. The #FBI is asking witnesses who passed him on the street or saw this blue ice chest containing an IED to contact us. https://t.co/YpD2NsVI5U pic.twitter.com/Em6PPsG4QK
— FBI New Orleans (@FBINewOrleans) January 2, 2025
After Jabbar rammed his truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street, he exchanged gunfire with law enforcement and was fatally shot by police.
According to police, Jabbar's actions were "very intentional" and he was "hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did."
On Wednesday, President Biden condemned the "heinous act" as "despicable" in a speech shared on The White House's X page.
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