New Orleans, Louisiana: The man behind the New Orleans terrorist attack planned to cause more carnage by using a transmitter to detonate explosives he placed on Bourbon Street, and had extra bomb-making material at a nearby Airbnb he set on fire to conceal evidence.
As US President Joe Biden prepares to visit the site of the tragedy on Monday, federal authorities have shed new light on Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s movements before he rammed his truck at high speed through a New Year’s crowd this week, killing 14 people and injuring about 35 others.
Roberto Marquez adjusts the candles and flowers at a memorial to the victims of a deadly truck attack on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans.Credit: AP
According to an update from the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Jabbar rented a short-term property about 10 minutes from Bourbon Street where he stored bomb-making devices similar to material found at his home in Texas, along with a separate homemade device suspected of being a silencer for a rifle.
However, in a bid to hide the evidence, the 42-year-old former US army veteran had strategically placed accelerants throughout the Airbnb and had tried to set it on fire the plan was foiled when the fire extinguished before it could spread sufficiently.
In another chilling finding, the FBI investigation also revealed that Jabbar – who authorities say was inspired by the Islamic State terrorist group – had set out to kill even more people.
“Jabbar intended to use a transmitter, which was found in the F150 truck, to detonate the two IEDs [improvised explosive devices] he placed on Bourbon Street,” the agency said in its latest update.
New Orleans police and federal agents investigate a deadly New Year’s Day truck attack on Bourbon Street.Credit: AP
“The transmitter, along with two firearms connected to Jabbar, is being transported to the FBI Laboratory for additional testing, as well as clothing and shell casings from the truck.”
The details came as New Orleans continues to mourn the dead, with many people coming to Bourbon Street to pay their respects to the victims at an ever-expanding memorial set up near the corner of Canal Street – the same corner where Jabbar veered around a police vehicle that was meant to block cars from getting onto the party strip that night.
