The 42-year-old suspect in the attack was identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a “US national from Texas” and former Army soldier, by the federal police and the FBI.
Around 3:15 a.m. (09:15 GMT) on Wednesday, at the wheel of a pick-up, he drove into the crowd strolling in the “Vieux Carré”, the French quarter, while trying to “to crush as many people as he could”indicated on Wednesday morning a local police chief, Anne Kirkpatrick.
“He was fiercely determined to cause carnage,” insisted the manager, describing the man as “terrorist”.
After knocking down, killing and injuring dozens of bystanders, the man was shot dead in a shootout with police. Two police officers were injured.
Evoking a “despicable attack”, US President Joe Biden addressed the country early in the evening. He stressed that the suspect, shot dead by the police, had “posted videos on social media indicating he was inspired by ISIS” and that he had a “desire to kill”.
China, for its part, said on Thursday “shocked” by the tragedy and sent her condolences to the bereaved families, affirming that she was opposed “firmly against any act of violence or terrorism targeting civilians”.
The investigators indicated that they were working “to determine the individual’s possible associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations” and claim to be looking for accomplices.
Searches and raids are underway in New Orleans and other states, said FBI special agent Alethea Duncan, noting that authorities “do not believe that Jabbar is solely responsible.”
Earlier, the FBI field office in Houston, Texas, indicated that it was carrying out activities “related” to the attack in New Orleans.
President Joe Biden said authorities were investigating whether there was « connexion » between the attack in New Orleans and the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck in front of a Trump hotel in Las Vegas which left one dead.
In both incidents, the vehicles involved were rented through the ride-sharing app Turo.
The Las Vegas sheriff said it was a “coincidence (…) that we must continue to examine”. A spokesperson for the application, used by millions of people in the United States, said it was collaborating with law enforcement.
“We do not believe either client had a criminal past that would have identified them as a security threat”declared the group’s spokesperson to AFP.
The attack comes less than three weeks before the transfer of power between Democratic President Joe Biden and his elected Republican successor Donald Trump, in an electric political climate.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar served in the army from 2007 to 2015, including a presence in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010, finishing at the rank of staff sergeant, according to the Ministry of Defense.
His brother Abdur Jabbar described him as “a love”, specifying at New York Times that he had converted to Islam at a young age, speaking “a form of radicalization”.
A childhood friend who found him in 2017 told the newspaper that the suspect had become “really intense” about his faith.
The FBI indicated that“a flag (of the jihadist group) IS was in his vehicle” and that two homemade explosive devices found in the car and in the neighborhood had been defused.
An FBI official on site, Alethea Duncan, told reporters “not to think that Jabbar was the only one responsible” and considered that he would have acted with “potential accomplices”.
An AFP journalist saw the damaged vehicle which had been transformed into a weapon: a Ford F-150 pick-up, very common in the United States, in an electric version.
President-elect Donald Trump, who campaigned on denouncing illegal immigration, made the link with the millions of illegal immigrants in the United States: he affirmed, without proof, on his Truth Social network that “The criminals who are coming (to the United States) are much worse than the criminals we have in our country.”
The attack took place in the “French Quarter” of New Orleans, a neighborhood that never sleeps all year round, especially on New Year’s Eve, between Canal and Bourbon Street.
Famous for its restaurants, bars and jazz clubs, this district, which looks like a small French colonial town, also hosts cabarets and places frequented by the LGBT community.
A witness, Zion Parsons, quoted by CNN, spoke of a “war zone”.
Another, Jim Mowrer, told CBS News that the vehicle drove into the crowd at “high speed”, before its driver got out and opened fire, provoking a response from the police.
“We saw a lot of people affected; we wanted to see what we could do to help them,” but some were “unfortunately deceased”he said.
New Orleans, the largest city in Louisiana, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United States and known in Europe.
It was to host a major college football game, the Sugar Bowl, on Wednesday evening, which was postponed for 24 hours.
