What We Know About the New Orleans Terror Attack on Bourbon Street

Investigators stated they discovered what seemed to be improvised explosive gadgets within the truck and had been making an attempt to find out whether or not the gadgets had been viable.

Who was the motive force?

The person who drove the truck onto Bourbon Avenue was recognized by the F.B.I. as Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen from Texas. The truck, which officers stated carried the flag of the Islamic State, held weapons in addition to the improvised explosive gadgets, and potential bombs had been additionally discovered elsewhere within the French Quarter, officers stated.

Mr. Jabbar served nearly eight years within the U.S. Military, together with a deployment to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010, in keeping with an Military consultant. He transferred to the Military Reserve after leaving lively obligation in January 2015, after which left the reserves as a employees sergeant in July 2020, the Military stated.

In a YouTube video from 2020 that seems to have been posted by Mr. Jabbar, he spoke positively about his expertise in a post-military profession in actual property. He stated he had been born and raised in Beaumont, Texas.

“I’ve been right here all my life, apart from touring for the army,” he stated.

He stated that in his years within the armed forces, he had labored as a human assets specialist and an info know-how specialist.

The place precisely did the assault occur?

The carnage occurred close to the intersection of Canal and Bourbon Streets within the metropolis’s historic French Quarter, the center of the Louisiana tourism business and a driver of the state’s financial system. Security bollards supposed to stop autos from hitting pedestrians weren’t in place on a bit of Bourbon Avenue the place the attacker drove on Wednesday; officers stated they’d been eliminated for repairs in preparation for the Tremendous Bowl, which was scheduled to happen in New Orleans subsequent month.

Ms. Kirkpatrick, the police superintendent, stated that the motive force drove onto the sidewalk so as get round limitations and a police automotive that was parked there.

Bourbon Avenue is famed for its vibrant festivals and events, together with Mardi Gras, and attracts vacationers from internationally year-round. “You’re speaking about one of the crucial iconic cities, and one of the crucial recognizable streets on this planet,” Oliver Thomas, a New Orleans metropolis councilman, stated on Wednesday after the assault.

“So when you consider it, this isn’t actually a message and a shot at New Orleans. That is at America. It’s the world and the surroundings we dwell in proper now.”

Regulation enforcement officers combed a half-mile stretch of Bourbon Avenue for proof on Wednesday and reopened the road in phases on Thursday.

What occurred to the Sugar Bowl?

The Sugar Bowl, a university soccer playoff recreation between Notre Dame and the College of Georgia, had been scheduled for Wednesday night time on the Superdome, a couple of mile from Bourbon Avenue.

Officers postponed the sport for a day, partially to permit time for the stadium to be searched and for added safety to be organized.

With flags flying at half-staff, the sport kicked off Thursday afternoon following a second of silence for the victims of the assault. Notre Dame received, 23-10.