Once the vehicle stopped, the man opened fire before being shot dead by police during the shootout.
The balance sheet
At least 15 people died and more than 35 were injured, according to New Orleans Police Director Anne Kirkpatrick.
The man also injured two police officers during the shooting. According to official sources, their condition is “stable”.
The attacker
The individual, who died, was identified by the FBI. He is “Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42 years old, American citizen from Texas,” according to the FBI press release. He is a former soldier, said the federal agency, stressing that, according to initial information, he had left the army in an “honorable” manner.
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 sweetheart”, telling the New York Times that he had converted to Islam at a young age, speaking of “a form of radicalization”.
Terrorist attack
The attack was described as a “terrorist act” by the authorities. The FBI said an ISIS flag was found in the vehicle.
The FBI is investigating this Thursday the attack on the former American soldier, “inspired” by the Islamic State group. Investigators said they were working “to determine the individual’s possible associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations” and claimed to be looking for accomplices.
Searches and raids are underway in New Orleans and other states, with FBI special agent Alethea Duncan emphasizing that authorities “do not believe Jabbar is solely responsible.”
Earlier, the FBI field office in Houston (Texas) indicated that it was carrying out activities “related” to the New Orleans attack.
Weapons and explosives
“Weapons and a potential explosive device were found in the subject’s vehicle. Other IEDs (improvised explosive devices) were also found in the French Quarter,” according to the FBI, which says it is “working” to determine if these devices were likely to explode.
“At this time, two improvised explosive devices have been found and secured,” Officer Duncan said.
A place of celebration
The attack took place in the famous Bourbon street in the “Vieux Carré”, a historic district of New Orleans, with colorful colonial-style houses, a temple of tourism and partying famous throughout the world.
The French Quarter is renowned for its bars with live music, in a city where locals say jazz was invented by freed slaves in the 19th century.
The city is also known for its carnival and its famous Mardi Gras.
The largest city in the state of Louisiana, with more than 360,000 inhabitants, New Orleans, located on the banks of the Mississippi River, attracts some 18 million tourists in 2018.
These days, the city welcomes tens of thousands of people to watch a major college football game, the Sugar Bowl. The match was postponed by 24 hours.
A link with the explosion in Las Vegas?
American authorities are looking into whether this vehicle-ramming attack in New Orleans and the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck in front of a Trump hotel in Las Vegas are linked, Joe Biden said Wednesday evening. The American president affirmed that the authorities were investigating this explosion of a Tesla electric vehicle in particular to find out “if there was any possible connection with the attack in New Orleans”, he said in a statement. short speech from the Camp David residence, near Washington. “So far, there is nothing to report on this subject,” he clarified.
