Closing summary
We are closing our live coverage of the New Orleans attack that killed at least 15 people on New Year’s Day. Here is a recap of the day’s developments:
The FBI said Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old US citizen from Texas, drove a Ford pickup truck into a crowd of revelers on New Orleans’ famous Bourbon Street at about 3.15am.
At least 15 people were killed and more than 30 injured. The victims include Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux, an 18-year-old who was due to start a nursing program, and Tiger Bech, a 27-year-old Louisiana native and former football player.
Jabbar served in the US army for 13 years, including a deployment to Afghanistan.
He was shot dead by police after reportedly exchanging gunfire with police.
Street barriers to prevent vehicle attacks in New Orleans in the area were in the process of being replaced at the time of the attack.
Joe Biden said the FBI found that “mere hours before the attack”, the suspect “posted videos on social media indicating that he was inspired by Islamic State, expressing a desire to kill”.
The FBI has said it did not believe Jabbar was “solely responsible” for the deadly attack and asked the public for help in tracking down associates.
Donald Trump falsely suggested the suspect was a non-citizen, saying “criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country”, despite the fact that the suspect was a US citizen.
Residents and tourists recalled scrambling for cover as scenes of unimaginable horror unfolded in New Orleans’ French Quarter.
Louisiana attorney general Liz Murrill said there is a huge law enforcement presence in New Orleans in the attack’s aftermath. She believes the Sugar Bowl should be delayed at least another day, but says the community is safe.
Condolences and condemnations rolled in from local sport teams to international leaders, while details about victims of the attack emerge in local news.
For more, here is an explainer everything we know so far:
Two more victims of the New Orleans vehicle attack have been identified by their former high schools.
21 year old Hubert Gauthreaux graduated from Archbishop Shaw High School in 2021. A spokesperson for the school said he “was tragically killed in the senseless act of violence that occurred early this morning in the French Quarter”:
We are asking the entire Archbishop Shaw family to pray for the repose of Hubert’s soul, his family and friends during this difficult time, and all those affected by this tragedy.
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Kareem Badawi, who graduated from Episcopal School of Baton Rouge in 2024, died from his injuries in the attack, the school said in a statement, as reported by WDSU News. Another student, Parker Vidrine, was critically injured and hospitalized. The statement said:
It is with a profound sense of sorrow and grief that we share difficult news involving members of our Episcopal family. Earlier today, we learned of a horrific attack in New Orleans that has tragically impacted our school community. Because of the sensitive nature and out of respect for the families, there is only so much that is appropriate to share at this time.
We are deeply saddened to share that alumnus Parker Vidrine ’24 was critically injured and is hospitalized, and alumnus Kareem Badawi ’24 tragically passed away as a result of the attack.
Local media in New Orleans have identified the first known victims of the New Year’s Day attack, including an 18-year-old aspiring nurse, a 37-year-old father of two and a 27-year-old former football player.
A fast-moving vehicle ploughed into the crowds of revelers celebrating the first hours of 2025 early on Wednesday morning, killing at least 15 people. Details of those killed are beginning to emerge in local media:
Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux, 18, traveled to New Orleans from nearby Gulfport, Mississippi, with a cousin and a friend. Reggie Hunter, a 37-year-old father of two from Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Tiger Bech, a 27-year-old Lafayette, Louisiana, native and former football player. A fourth victim was named as Nicole Perez, a 28-year-old mother and delicatessen manager from Metairie, Louisiana, who was celebrating the new year with friends.
Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux graduated from Harrison Central high school in Gulfport in 2024 and was due to start a nursing program at Blue Cliff College later this month.
Her mother Melissa Dedeaux told Nola.com: “She was the sweetest person. She would give you anything, anything.” She said her daughter had apparently been hit by the speeding truck after running at the sound of gunfire.
After finishing work on New Year’s Eve, Hunter decided to head to Bourbon Street “on a whim” to celebrate the new year with a cousin, Shirell Jackson, his family told Nola.com.
According to the outlet, Bech was hit by the suspect’s truck, said Kim Broussard, the athletic director at St Thomas More Catholic high school, where he played football before going on to play for Princeton University.
You can read more here:
Updated
19-year-olds Elle Eisele and Steele Idelson are among dozens injured in the New Orleans truck attack on Wednesday, congressman Bryon Donalds said in a statement posted to Facebook.
“Two members of our Southwest Florida community were injured during this morning’s terrorist attack in New Orleans,” the representative for Florida’s 19th congressional district said.
Both Elle Eisele and Steele Idelson are 2023 graduates of the Canterbury School in Fort Myers.
Erika and I pray for the health, strength, and speedy recovery of Elle, Steele, and the thirty-three other injured victims of this evil.
Donalds also shared a statement from The Canterbury School on behalf of the girls’ families:
The Eisele and Idelson families are deeply grateful for the outpouring of thoughts, prayers, and offers of support for our daughters following the tragic attack in New Orleans.
Updated
International condolences and condemnation poured in following the New Orleans vehicle attack which killed at least 15 people in the city’s French Quarter. Here is Agence France-Presse’s round-up of global reactions:
French president Emmanuel Macron posted on X:
New Orleans, so dear to the hearts of the French, has been struck by terrorism. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims and the injured, as well as with the American people, whose sorrow we share.
Christian Estrosi, mayor of Nice in the south of France – which suffered a car-ramming attack in 2016 that killed 86 people – also posted on X:
The tragedy in New Orleans, a sister city of Nice, very painfully recalls our own ... Our thoughts go out to the families and the lives mowed down in mid-New Year’s celebrations.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky posted on X:
Horrified by the attack in New Orleans, US, which has claimed innocent lives and left many injured.
We trust that those responsible for this terrible act will be brought to justice. Violence, terrorism, and any threats to human life have no place in our world and must not be tolerated.
Kaja Kallas, European Union’s top diplomat, posted on X:
I am deeply saddened by the deliberate attack on those celebrating New Year’s in New Orleans. There is no excuse for such violence.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz posted on X:
This is terrible news from New Orleans. People celebrating happily are torn from their lives or injured by senseless hatred. We grieve with the families and friends of the victims and wish all those injured a quick recovery.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar posted on X:
Deeply saddened by the terrorist attack in New Orleans. My heartfelt condolences go out to the families of the victims. Wishing a swift recovery to the two injured Israeli citizens and all the wounded... Terror has no place in our world.
Turkey’s foreign ministry said in a statement:
We are deeply saddened by the attack that took place in New Orleans, USA. We extend our condolences to the families and friends of those who lost their lives ... We hope that the motive for the attack will be revealed as soon as possible and that those who might be responsible will be held accountable before justice.
And Saudi Arabia “condemns and denounces” the attack, its foreign ministry said in a statement on X.
‘We’re living in a world where you don’t know where you’re safe’: New Orleans team coaches devastated by vehicle attack
New Orleans Pelicans head coach Willie Green said the NBA team was “devastated” by the truck attack that killed at least 15 people on New Years Day, Agence France-Presse report.
Green spoke to reporters in Miami before the Pelicans faced the Heat on Wednesday night:
Obviously, our hearts and our prayers, our thoughts go out to all the families that are impacted by, to be honest with you, a senseless act of violence.
We discussed it a bit with our players, but we’re just living in times and in a world where you don’t know where you’re safe.
Schools, churches, people should be able to go out and have a good time and walk the streets and it’s devastating.
I can only imagine what those families are going through and what they have to deal with now for the rest of their lives.
Darren Rizzi, NFL New Orleans Saints’ interim head coach, told reporters it was a solemn day.
Updated
What is New Orleans’ French Quarter, location of the vehicle attack?
The New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans targeted one of the city’s most famous districts – the six-by-13-block French Quarter. Located on the banks of the Mississippi River, it attracts millions of visitors each year as a hub for music, culture and raucous nightlife.
The vehicle attack took place on Bourbon Street, an area famed for its bars and music venues, in a city where locals say jazz was first invented by freed enslaved people in the 19th century.
The street – named for the former French royal family – is the main artery feeding the city’s tourist nightlife, with people often carrying their drinks in “go-cups” as they walk down the promenade. Footage posted on social media, purportedly of the moments before the attack, appeared to show just that – New Year’s night revellers bopping to music and spilling out of nearby bars as police officers ran past them to respond to an unseen commotion.
You can read more about the location of the New Year’s Day truck attack here:
Updated
Liz Murrill, Louisiana attorney general, believes the community is safe following the New Orleans vehicle attack.
Asked if there is any further threat in an interview with NBC News a short while ago, Murrill said:
No, I believe that the community is safe, and there certainly are a lot of law enforcement, there is a huge law enforcement presence here in New Orleans.
I believe that everyone is safe.
Updated
Louisiana attorney general Liz Murrill thinks the Sugar Bowl should be delayed at least another day, she said in an interview with NBC News.
Murrill said not all bodies have been removed from the scene:
Not my decision, but I would like to see it delayed at least another day. If they ask my opinion, I would tell them that.
I think it was a wise decision to delay it at least a day. This is an active crime scene, and they just finished removing some of the bodies and they still haven’t removed all of them. I still think that we probably need to wait an extra day.
The football game was originally scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, but was postponed for 24 hours in the wake of the New Year’s Day vehicle attack.
Updated
Two Mexican nationals injured but in stable condition
The Mexico foreign affairs ministry said US officials confirmed two Mexican nationals were injured in the New Orleans attack that killed at least 15, but are in stable condition, the New York Times reports.
Summary
Here’s what we know so far about the New Orleans attack that killed at least 15 people on New Year’s Day:
The FBI said Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old US citizen from Texas, drove a Ford pickup truck into a crowd of revelers on New Orleans’ famous Bourbon Street at about 3.15am.
At least 15 people were killed and more than 30 injured. The fatalities include Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux, an 18-year-old who was due to start a nursing program, and Tiger Bech, a 27-year-old Louisiana native and former football player.
Jabbar served in the US army for 13 years, including a deployment to Afghanistan.
Jabbar was shot dead by police after he reportedly exchanged gunfire with officers.
Street barriers to prevent vehicle attacks in New Orleans in the area were in the process of being replaced at the time of the attack.
Joe Biden said the FBI found that “mere hours before the attack”, the suspect “posted videos on social media indicating that he was inspired by Isis, expressing a desire to kill”.
The FBI has said it did not believe Jabbar was “solely responsible” for the deadly attack and asked the public for help in tracking down associates.
Donald Trump falsely suggested the suspect was a non-citizen, saying “criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country”, despite the fact that the suspect was a US citizen.
Residents and tourists recalled scrambling for cover as scenes of unimaginable horror unfolded in New Orleans’ French Quarter.
Updated
Joe Biden: Suspect expressed 'desire to kill' on social media
Joe Biden has just given brief remarks about the attack in New Orleans that killed at least 15 people. The president said the FBI found that “mere hours before the attack” the suspect “posted videos on social media indicating that he was inspired by Isis, expressing a desire to kill”.
Biden said the investigation was still in a preliminary stage and that the situation was “fluid”. “The law enforcement intelligence community continues to look for any connections, associations or co-conspirators,” he said.
He said law enforcement was also investigating the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside Donald Trump’s hotel in Las Vegas and whether there was “any possible connection with the attack in New Orleans”. He said he had nothing yet to report on those inquiries.
He added: “New Orleans is a place unlike any other place in the world – a city full of charm and joy. So many people around the world love New Orleans because of its history, its culture and above all its people. I know that while this person committed a terrible assault on this city, the spirit of New Orleans will never, never be defeated.” Biden did not take questions.
Updated
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who has been identified as the suspect in the New Orleans attack that killed at least 15 people, was having financial difficulties in recent years, according to a divorce records review by the Associated Press.
The documents suggested that Jabbar was $27,000 behind on house payments and that he was trying to quickly finalize his divorce, the AP reported. In a January 2022 email to the attorney of his ex-wife, he wrote: “I have exhausted all means of bringing the loan current other than a loan modification, leaving us no alternative but to sell the house or allow it to go into foreclosure.”
He also had struggling businesses. Blue Meadow Properties LLC, that lost roughly $28,000 over the previous year, and two others he started – Jabbar Real Estate Holdings LLC and BDQ L3C – had no value, according to the AP.
His divorce was finalized in September 2024.
The FBI said Jabbar shot at police before officers shot him dead after his vehicle attack into a crowd on New Year’s Day.
Updated
The New Orleans attack, which officials are investigating as an act of terrorism, appears to be the deadliest mass attack in the US in more than a year, according to the New York Times.
Officials say at least 15 people were killed and more than 30 injured after a vehicle flying an Islamic State (IS) flag drove into a crowd in the early hours of New Year’s Day.
In October 2023, a 40-year-old gunman in Maine killed 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar. That shooter died by suicide and was later found to have evidence of traumatic brain injuries.
Updated
More details are emerging about the suspect in the New Orleans attack.
An army spokesperson said Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, served in both an active duty and reserve capacity. He joined the army in 2006, and was deployed in 2009 to Afghanistan, where he worked as an administrative clerk.
In 2015 he joined the army reserve, and was honorably discharged as a staff sergeant in July 2020. He also worked in information technology.
He was charged with two minor infractions, for a misdemeanor theft offense in 2002, and driving with an invalid license in 2005. On Wednesday, the FBI released an undated, low resolution mugshot of Jabbar. It is not known if it is related to either of these two charges.
CNN reported on Wednesday that investigators are looking at a series of video recordings that Jabbar reportedly made prior to Wednesday’s attack, in which he was killed in a shootout with police.
The network said the recordings appeared to have been made while driving at night, and although the suspect is not visible, authorities believe the recordings were made as he drove from Texas to Louisiana, although the exact timing is not yet clear.
According to CNN, the recordings reference his divorce and how he had at first planned to gather his family for a “celebration” with the intention of killing them, two officials who had been briefed on the material in the recordings said.
The suspect also talked about how he changed his plans and said that he joined the Islamic State. According to the FBI, an IS flag was attached to the vehicle he used in the attack.
Updated
Here are some images from New Orleans, Louisiana, and Houston, Texas, in the aftermath of the New Year’s Day vehicle attack, sent to us over the news wires:
Updated
CNN is reporting that authorities appear to be backtracking from earlier, albeit unofficial assertions that three men and one woman were reportedly captured on surveillance video placing improvised explosive devices in New Orleans.
Law enforcement sources told the network earlier on Wednesday that investigators had reviewed footage purportedly showing the four individuals they believed at the time were involved in placing devices in the French Quarter.
The Associated Press also reported it had obtained an intelligence bulletin from Louisiana state police making the same claim.
However, while federal investigators are still trying to determine if other people were involved in assisting the suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, plan or execute the New Year’s Day attack, they no longer believe the people reportedly seen in the video were involved, CNN said.
Updated
New Orleans attack death toll rises to 15
The New Orleans parish coroner, Dr Dwight McKenna, has said the death toll from the New Year’s Day vehicle attack in the city’s French Quarter has risen to at least 15.
An official statement just released by the coroner’s office says:
We are deeply saddened by the tragic events that unfolded in the French Quarter. Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with the victims, their families, and everyone affected.
As of now, 15 people are deceased. It will take several days to perform all autopsies. Once we complete the autopsies and talk with the next of kin, we will release the identifications of the victims.
As we work diligently in coordination with the New Orleans Police Department, FBI, and Homeland Security, we remain committed to supporting the community during this tragic time in our city.
Officials have yet to confirm the identify of any of the victims, but family members have named at least four of the at least 15 who were killed.
Local media in New Orleans identified Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux, 18, who had traveled to New Orleans from nearby Gulfport, Mississippi, with a cousin and a friend; Reggie Hunter, a 37-year-old father of two from Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Tiger Bech, a 27-year-old Lafayette, Louisiana, native and former football player.
A fourth victim was named as Nicole Perez, a 28-year-old mother and delicatessen manager from Metairie, Louisiana, who was celebrating the new year with friends.
Updated
College football officials have posted official confirmation that the Allstate Sugar Bowl, which this year doubles as the national championship quarter-final between Notre Dame and the University of Georgia, will kick-off at 3pm CT at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
🚨 UPDATE 🚨
— Allstate Sugar Bowl (@SugarBowlNola) January 1, 2025
🏆 The 2025 #CFBPlayoff Quarterfinal at the @Allstate #SugarBowl will kickoff January 2 at 3:00 PM CT! pic.twitter.com/wpCS52JnPN
The game was originally scheduled to have taken place on Wednesday afternoon, but was postponed for 24 hours in the wake of the New Year’s Day vehicle attack in the city’s French Quarter that killed at least 10 people and injured dozens more.
The Associated Press has been looking into why an anti-terrorism security system designed to temporarily prevent vehicles driving through New Orleans’s French Quarter was not in operation at the time of this morning’s attack.
It found that many of the adjustable barriers at intersections in the Quarter, stainless-steel columns known as bollards, were absent because they were in the process of being replaced during a rolling maintenance program that began in November and was scheduled to be completed before the Super Bowl in the city on 9 February.
Instead, in busy times for pedestrians such as the New Year’s Day celebrations, police cruisers were positioned at entrances to the Quarter. Surveillance footage posted to X on Wednesday showed what is believed to be the suspect’s pickup truck driving past one of the police vehicles and accelerating along Bourbon Street before plowing into the crowd.
City officials have not confirmed whether the intersection at which the suspect entered the Quarter was actively under construction, or if the replacement project created a vulnerability, the AP said.
Updated
FBI seals off Houston property 'related to New Orleans attack'
FBI agents in Texas, working with deputies from the Harris county sheriff’s office, have sealed off a house in Houston linked to the investigation into the vehicle attack in New Orleans.
The bureau’s Houston field office said in a post on X that agents and “specialized teams” would be at the property in the north of the city for several hours, and urged the public to keep away.
— FBI Houston (@FBIHouston) January 1, 2025
“This activity is related to this morning’s New Orleans attack, but due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, no further information can be provided,” the post said.
At a media briefing on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the 42-year-old suspect in the attack that killed at least 10, was a US citizen who lived in Texas, and was believed to have rented the pickup truck used in the attack in the state.
The New York Times on Wednesday published an interview with a man married to Jabbar’s ex-wife, who claimed Jabbar, a US army veteran, had recently converted to Islam.
Jabbar’s erratic behavior, Dwayne March told the newspaper, led to his wife banning contact between Jabbar and the children they shared, daughters aged 15 and 20.
According to the Times, Jabbar was previously charged with minor infractions, misdemeanor theft in 2002, and driving with an invalid license three years later.
Updated
The Guardian’s southern bureau chief Oliver Laughland is in New Orleans, and has been speaking with those caught up in the chaos of the New Year’s Day vehicle attack in the French Quarter:
The silence on Bourbon Street told much of the story.
At the intersection that marks the centre of New Orleans’s noisy tourist hub, lined with tall palm trees and towering hotels, the quiet on the morning of New Year’s Day was broken only by yellow police tape fluttering in the light breeze and the occasional blare of sirens echoing on the road.
Just a few hours earlier the road had been lined with hundreds of revellers from across the country, young and old, celebrating the new year when around 3am the crowd was targeted in a suspected act of terrorism. A vehicle had plowed into the throngs and a gunman exchanged fire with police, leaving at least 10 people dead and dozens injured. Bleary-eyed witnesses said they had heard the loud popping of gunshots, screams of terror and bodies on the ground.
As the sun rose on New Year’s Day, 28-year-old Casey Kirsch stood at the crime scene perimeter hoping to retrieve his father-in-law’s wheelchair, which had been left behind in the chaotic aftermath. Kirsch had come to New Orleans from Pittsburgh to celebrate the new year with his family, but instead spent the early hours of 2025 frantically trying to ascertain his father-in-law, Jeremi’s, whereabouts.
“We couldn’t get a hold of him and started calling the hospitals,” Kirsch recalled.
They eventually found out he had been injured in the attack and was probably in need of surgery. The magnitude of it all had hardly settled.
Read the full story:
Surveillance footage has been posted to X of what is reported to be the suspect’s white pickup truck passing a parked police cruiser positioned to block vehicular access to New Orleans’s French Quarter, and accelerating along Bourbon Street where it plowed into revelers celebrating New Year.
Surveillance video shows terrorist driving white truck in New Orleans speed around police cruiser onto Bourbon Street.
— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) January 1, 2025
I’m live on @NewsNation near the scene. pic.twitter.com/zUNtxsGXQP
The 45-second clip was obtained and posted by journalist Brian Entin. It is timestamped 3.16am Wednesday, the time authorities said 42-year old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a US citizen who is believed to have rented the vehicle in Texas, drove into the crowd, killing at least 10 people and injuring 35.
Updated
Here’s a clip from a media briefing held on Wednesday afternoon by the FBI and other agencies investigating the New Year’s Day vehicle attack in New Orleans that killed at least 10 people, and injured dozens more.
FBI assistant special agent in charge Alethea Duncan called the attack “an act of terrorism”, and stated an Isis (Islamic State) flag was attached to the suspect’s vehicle.
Updated
Surveillance video shows multiple people 'placing explosive device': report
The Associated Press says it has obtained an intelligence bulletin from Louisiana state police that says several “potential explosive devices” were found in New Orleans’s’ French Quarter following the vehicle attack early Wednesday, and that surveillance footage had “captured three men and a woman placing one of multiple improvised explosive devices”.
There was no immediate confirmation from the state police department.
According to the bulletin, the AP says, guns and pipe bombs found in the suspect’s pick-up truck were found concealed within coolers and “wired for remote detonation”. A corresponding remote control was also discovered, it said.
At a media briefing on Wednesday afternoon, Alethea Duncan, the FBI’s assistant special agent in charge of the bureau’s New Orleans office, said investigators believed that the suspect, 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, had not acted alone.
The FBI was treating the incident as “an act of terrorism”, and said a black Isis (Islamic State) flag was attached to the vehicle.
Officials said Jabbar drove onto a sidewalk and went around a police car that was positioned to block vehicular traffic from Bourbon Street revelers.
Authorities said a barrier system designed to prevent vehicle attacks was undergoing repairs in preparation for the Super Bowl, which is being played in the city in February.
Updated
Report: families identify vehicle attack victims
A father of two from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was named by his family as one of at least 10 victims killed in the New Orleans vehicle attack, nola.com is reporting.
Reggie Hunter, 37, finished work on New Year’s Eve and decided to head to Bourbon Street “on a whim” to celebrate the new year with a cousin, Shirell Jackson, who identified herself as Hunter’s first cousin, told the outlet.
Jackson said the cousin was also struck by the vehicle and is among at least 35 people who were injured.
Earlier Wednesday, an 18-year-old student, Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux, from Gulfport, Mississippi, was named by her family as another of those killed. Her mother told nola.com that her daughter was celebrating new year with her cousin and a friend.
The president of the University of Georgia said it had learned one its students was injured, while Gideon Sa’ar, Israel’s minister of foreign affairs, said in a post to X that two Israeli citizens were hurt.
Deeply saddened by the terrorist attack in New Orleans. My heartfelt condolences go out to the families of the victims. Wishing a swift recovery to the two injured Israeli citizens and all the wounded. I instructed Israel's Consul General in Houston to immediately deploy a…
— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) January 1, 2025
Authorities have yet to confirm the identities of any of the victims.
Updated
The Republican Louisiana governor Jeff Landry said at the press conference he had already planned to make an emergency declaration on Thursday because of upcoming large public events in the city. He said it would convene a range of authorities to discuss safety planning for the Mardi Gras carnival season, and the Super Bowl at the New Orleans Caesars Superdome on 9 February:
Because of the events today, I have amended that emergency declaration and issued it today. [It] will allow our federal, state and local partners to bring all of the resources necessary to get this city safe.
It is important for our citizens and guests of this state to know that we are doing everything we can to secure their safety in this city. We want to make it clear the Superdome and the surrounding area is safe, but I’ve always said that the safety of this entire city is something that is always paramount to me.
Landry said he had also mobilized a military police company comprising about 100 members of Louisiana’s national guard to assist agencies investigating the New Year’s Day attack.
Updated
Kamala Harris, the vice-president, has posted condolences to the victims of the New Year’s Day vehicle attack in New Orleans to X, calling the episode “reprehensible and unacceptable”:
Last night should have been a joyous celebration of the new year. Instead, a horrific incident occurred that left the New Orleans community mourning.
Last night should have been a joyous celebration of the new year. Instead, a horrific incident occurred that left the New Orleans community mourning. The FBI is investigating this incident as an act of terrorism.
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) January 1, 2025
My thoughts are with the victims of this tragedy and their…
My thoughts are with the victims of this tragedy and their families. President Biden and I will continue to be briefed on this investigation, and our team remains in close contact with local officials. Any attack on any of our communities is reprehensible and unacceptable.
Updated
Here's a summary of what we know so far about the New Orleans New Year's Day vehicle attack:
10 people were killed and at least 35 have been injured, 2 of which are police officers, after a pick-up truck plowed through New Orleans’s French Quarter on New Year’s Day.
The suspect who drove the white Ford truck into a crowd on New Orleans’s famous Bourbon Street early morning on Wednesday has been named as 42 year old Shamsud-Din Jabbar. Jabbar is a US citizen and Texas resident, who allegedly drove a rental car into Louisiana to carry out the attack. Jabbar was shot dead by police after a gunfire exchange.
The FBI says it does not believe Jabbar is solely responsible for the attack.
Four explosive devices and a long gun were found in the vehicle that drove into the crowd. Jabbar’s Airbnb rental is being swept in case there are more.
The FBI is treating the attack as an act of terrorism. A black ISIS flag was flown from Jabbar’s truck.
The Allstate Sugar Bowl football game between the University of Georgia and Notre Dame scheduled for this evening at the nearby Superdome has been postponed in light of the vehicle attack.
Updated
US senator John Neely Kennedy, who is from Louisiana, promised at the podium that “you will find out what happened and who was responsible, or I will raise fresh hell and chase those in the federal government who are responsible for telling us what happened, like they stole Christmas.”
The Allstate Sugar Bowl is officially postponed for 24 hours.
The Sugar Bowl’s CEO Jeff Hundley said: “We reiterate our thanks to everyone up here for the important work they’re doing. We live in a fun and games world with what we do, but we certainly recognize the importance of this and we’re going to support it 100%.”
Landry issued an emergency declaration today, which will allow federal partners to bring necessary resources to the region.
Louisiana governor Jeff Landry said in the press briefing “We intend to be transparent in assessing any defects that may have existed in the system so we can address it. It’s the only way to ensure that any mistakes that were made are corrected.”
Landry reassured the public and said the Superdome and surrounding areas are safe.
The FBI reiterated in the press briefing that it is investigating the attack as an act of terrorism. While Shamsud-Din Jabbar has been named as a suspect, the FBI said it is looking for his possible accomplices in the attack.
“We do not believe Jabbar is solely responsible,” an FBI agent said.
The FBI asks “anyone who has information, pictures, or videos, to provide it to the FBI.” Tips can be called into 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Updated
A press briefing on the New Orleans vehicle attack is kicking off now.
Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux, a University of Georgia student, has been named as one of those injured in the New Orleans vehicle attack early this morning.
Dedeaux originally from Gulfport, Mississippi, was visiting the city with her cousin and a friend, NOLA.com reports.
Dedeaux, 18, allegedly darted into the street into the path of the truck, which was deliberately driven through a crowd.
Updated
The Sugar Bowl, an annual college football game which takes place in New Orleans, was initially expected to go on as planned tonight but organizers are in talks to postpone the event in light of the vehicle attack.
The Allstate Sugar Bowl’s organizers issued a statement offering “thoughts and prayers” to victims of the vehicle attack, which took place early this morning on New Year’s Day.
Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish are set to play the University of Georgia’s Bulldogs at the Caesars Superdome – less than one mile away from Bourbon Street, where the attack occurred.
Statement from the Sugar Bowl Committee pic.twitter.com/OmatGg9h4y
— Allstate Sugar Bowl (@SugarBowlNola) January 1, 2025
Updated
New Orlean’s office of homeland security And emergency preparedness is working to reunite families affected by the vehicle attack which took place this morning on Bourbon Street.
”Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy. The City of New Orleans is working alongside local and state partners to provide support and ensure timely assistance for families,” The NOLA Ready website says.
Updated
FBI: attack being treated as 'act of terrorism'
Federal investigators say the vehicle attack is being treated as an “act of terrorism”.
The suspect, Jabbar, was wearing body armor at the time he carried out the attack. His rental truck flew a black flag, but it is not clear what organization the flag represented.
Updated
The Guardian can confirm multiple bomb sniffing dogs being led toward the Airbnb rental linked to Jabbar, who allegedly drove into Louisiana from Texas in a rental car.
The suspect, Jabbar, 42, is a US citizen and a Texas resident.
Jabbar has a previous criminal record which includes theft and driving with a suspended license.
A black flag was flown from the truck Jabbar allegedly drove into the crowd.
Law enforcement sources told CBS News they are investigating whether or not the flag is tied to ISIS or another foreign terror organization.
Suspect named in vehicle attack as Shamsud-Din Jabbar
The suspect in the deadly terrorist attack in New Orleans has been named as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a senior law enforcement source confirmed to the Guardian.
NOLA.com first reported Jabbar’s name, which matches that of a man in Texas, where the truck was rented.
The senior law enforcement source said investigators for now believe Jabbar has ties to the Houston area.
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Joe Biden issues statement on New Orleans vehicle attack
“I have been continually briefed since early this morning by federal law enforcement leadership and my homeland security team, including Secretary of Homeland Security Ali Mayorkas, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, White House Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall, and the Mayor of New Orleans regarding the horrific incident that occurred there overnight. The FBI is taking the lead in the investigation and is investigating this incident as an act of terrorism. I am grateful for the brave and swift response of local law enforcement in preventing even greater death and injury. I have directed my team to ensure every resource is available as federal, state, and local law enforcement work assiduously to get to the bottom of what happened as quickly as possible and to ensure that there is no remaining threat of any kind.
“I will continue to receive updates throughout the day, and I will have more to say as we have further information to share. In the meantime, my heart goes out to the victims and their families who were simply trying to celebrate the holiday. There is no justification for violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation’s communities.”
Updated
Despite the vehicle attack casting a shadow on the Allstate Sugar Bowl, the college football game between the University of Notre Dame and the University of Georgia is expected to move forward tonight.
Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley said in a statement on Wednesday: “The Sugar Bowl Committee is devastated by the terrible events from early this morning. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. We are in ongoing discussions with authorities on the local, state, and federal levels and will communicate further details as they become available.”
Donald Trump just took to Truth Social moments ago to share his thoughts on the vehicle attack in New Orleans. The president-elect in a post suggested the suspect, who has not yet been named, is not from the US – a claim which has not been confirmed by authorities.
“When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats and the Fake News Media, but it turned out to be true. The crime rate in our country is at a level that nobody has ever seen before. Our hearts are with all of the innocent victims and their loved ones, including the brave officers of the New Orleans Police Department.
"The Trump Administration will fully support the City of New Orleans as they investigate and recover from this act of pure evil!”
The driver was killed in a firefight with police, the FBI said.
A long gun was recovered at the scene of the crash, according to CBS.
Investigators also continue to sweep the area for explosive devices. FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan said officials are so far investigating at least one suspected improvised explosive device at the scene.
Updated
Louisiana congressman Troy Carter, a Democrat who also sits on the House Homeland Security Committee, has said he understands that the suspect in the mass killing in New Orleans acted alone.
There is very little information out in the public arena so far about the suspect, who is now dead. CNN reported that his truck had Texas licence plates.
Carter spoke to CNN and said “he appears to be a lone actor at this point.”
Carter posted on X: “New Orleans has faced adversity before, and we will rise again, stronger and more united.”
He also said he has spoken with homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
I have spoken personally with Secretary Mayorkas and the White House regarding last night’s unspeakable act of violence and will continue to receive updates. My heart is with the victims, their families, and everyone who witnessed this horrific attack during what should have been…
— Congressman Troy A. Carter (@RepTroyCarter) January 1, 2025
Here’s a brief summary of what’s taken place in New Orleans in the early hours of this morning. This is an Associated Press report.
What happened? Police said the driver sped through a crowd along Bourbon Street around 3.15am Wednesday as revelers had gathered to celebrate the start of the New Year. Ten people were killed and 30 were injured and taken to five local hospitals.
What are police saying about a possible motive? Police Commissioner Anne Kirkpatrick said the driver was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did” and he tried “to run over as many people as he could.” Kirkpatrick said two police officers were shot after the driver emerged from the truck and are in stable condition.
What happened to the driver? The FBI said the suspect is dead after a firefight with police. New Orleans police said that after the vehicle came to a stop, the suspect reportedly opened fire on responding officers, who returned fire. The victim was struck and subsequently declared deceased on scene. Further information on the suspect was not released.
Who was in the crowd? Authorities said Bourbon Street was filled with revelers toasting the start of 2025 and attending New Year’s Eve parties when the attack occurred. Crowds in New Orleans have been ballooning in anticipation of Wednesday night’s Sugar Bowl college football playoff game between Georgia and Notre Dame. Officials said that game would go on as scheduled.
The suspect in the New Orleans mass killing appears to have been based locally – if only temporarily. The suspect is dead and has not yet been named and very few details are known about him publicly.
A senior law enforcement source briefed on the attack told the Guardian that a short-term rental home linked to the suspect in New Orleans’ St Roch neighborhood, less than two miles from the scene of the incident, was on fire Wednesday morning.
An emergency management source told the Guardian that numerous residents in the area surrounding the home were evacuated, because there were apparently explosives inside the home. The owner of the home did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The FBI, which is now leading the investigation, said in a statement that “an individual drove a car into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing a number of people and injuring dozens of others. The subject then engaged with local law enforcement and is now deceased.”
The bureau added that it is “working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism”.
The eyewitness, Jimmy Cothran, who just spoke to CNN and has lived in New Orleans for about 15 years, said he was surprised that metal barriers that are deployed to control crowds at each spring’s Mardi Gras celebrations were not deployed on Bourbon Street during the New Year’s Eve celebrations this year.
He said that only flimsy, orange plastic barriers “that you can push with one finger” were up, not the hydraulic posts that are raised during other large crowd events and, to his knowledge, would have stopped the truck driving the distance and speed it did along the street, running people over.
“Those barricades were not up…they never raised them, that’s how this guy was able to drive down Bourbon so quickly,” he said.
Cothran said he thought there would have been many fewer casualties if the metal barricades had been deployed “because this truck cannot get around those barricades,” he said.
A witness, a very shaken New Orleans resident, Jimmy Cothran, has been speaking with some media outlets about what he saw on Bourbon Street earlier this morning.
He just gave an interview to CNN and said that he was on Bourbon Street with some friends and they ducked into a night club when, all of a sudden, some young women rushed in and started hiding under the tables, the first signs that something terrible was unfolding.
He rushed out to the street and saw a horrendous scene of destruction, with bodies strewn after being run down by the suspect who drove a truck at high speed along Bourbon Street.
“It was unimaginable carnage. The disfigurement, bodies strewn, it’s something I will never forget, I saw someone twisted up, obviously deceased. We counted eight bodies very quickly in our area,” he said.
Cothran added that he saw people crushed flat, with tire marks on their front or back from where they had been run down. A young woman whom moments before he had seen dancing in the street was now among the bodies.
He said he was the designated driver in his group, so remembered very sharply what he saw.
Choking up, he added: “These people, they are somebody’s people and they are not going to be there this morning.”
Mike Johnson, the speaker of the US House of Representatives and a Republican congressman from Louisiana, has posted on X about the tragedy in New Orleans.
“The vicious attack on innocent people celebrating the New Year in New Orleans early this morning was an act of pure evil, and justice must be swift for anyone who was involved,” he posted.
He added: “Please join us in praying for the victims, their families, and the first responders and investigators on the scene.”
Joe Biden has made a call to the mayor of New Orleans, LaToya Cantrell, offering full federal support to the city as it is plunged into a crisis.
The US president is being kept updated on the investigation as it continues and on the news of casualties both among the public and police officers.
It is estimated that at least 35 people were injured as well as 10 people killed as a man drove a truck on an apparent rampage down Bourbon Street amid New Year’s revelry in the early hours of today.
The suspect, who is now dead, also fired shots, including striking two police officers who are now in the hospital.
The injured have been dispatched to a number of area hospitals and there is currently no report on their condition or confirmation of exactly how many people were hurt.
One visitor to New Orleans, Jay McGuffy, 28, told the Guardian’s Oliver Laughland that she had been visiting the city and
had been in a nightclub on Bourbon Street when the incident took
place.
“We were just having fun, celebrating New Year’s, and then they told us to get out ‘cause somebody had got shot. Then we heard that a truck had been through here, and fifteen people had been shot,” McGuffy said.
She added that she had not been allowed into her hotel
because there were still bodies on the ground.
“How did this happen? There are like 100 cops out here”, she said.
Suspect shot dead after exchanging gunfire with police
The driver of the pickup truck was shot dead after exchanging gunfire with police, a senior law enforcement source briefed on the attack has told the Guardian.
The source said the driver was equipped with a rifle, a helmet and body armor.
Meanwhile here is a video report that the Guardian has published.
Updated
FBI now says event an 'act of terrorism'
Following confusion from different branches of the authorities who’ve been discussing the fatal attack on the public in New Orleans in the early hours of New Year’s Day, there is now a clearer line.
The FBI has just said it is investigating the tragedy “as an act of terrorism”, Reuters now reports.
Also, several media outlets and local political leaders are saying the suspect in the attack is dead. We’ll bring you more details as they emerge and are confirmed.
Updated
Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick, the police commissioner of New Orleans, said a little earlier about the suspect: “This man was trying to run over as many people as he could. He was hell bent on creating the carnage and damage that he did.”
She said it was not “a DUI thing”, ie it was not a case of a drunken driver, aka Driving Under the Influence in the legal sense, careening down the street and into people by mistake.
Eyewitnesses have said that the suspect was also shooting at people while still sitting in his pick-up truck, including on police officers.
There is a disagreement between authorities at the moment as to whether this should be classified as a terrorist attack.
The AP reports that at the news conference earlier, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell described the killings as a “terrorist attack”, but an assistant FBI agent in charge declared that is was “not a terrorist event.”
The news conference ended before authorities could reconcile the two characterizations. This will probably be clarified at the next press conference, due in about 90 minutes.
Suspect in truck attack is reportedly dead
The suspect in the New Orleans truck crash that killed 10 people and injured 30 revelers in New Orleans on New Year’s Day was killed after a firefight with police, law enforcement officials told the Associated Press.
The officials were not authorized to discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity
Updated
Joe Biden has been briefed on the tragedy in New Orleans earlier today.
The White House said the US president had been informed of the tragedy, as has the US attorney general, Merrick Garland.
The New Year’s Day attack occurred around 3.15am local time along Bourbon Street, known worldwide as one of the largest destinations for New Year’s Eve parties, the Associated Press reports.
Crowds were also ballooning in the city in anticipation for the Sugar Bowl college football playoff game at the nearby Superdome stadium later in the day.
Readers worldwide will remember the Superdome as the place where thousands took refuge after Hurricane Katrina decimated parts of New Orleans in the late summer of 2005.
At the intersection of Bourbon St and Canal St, usually a bustling tourist hub, dozens of city police cars lined the streets. Yellow police tape was wrapped around the main drag and three white vans from the parish coroner’s office were parked parallel, near to where the attack took place.
There are now reports of federal bomb squads detonating improvised explosive devices in the French Quarter of New Orleans.
Information and witness reports are now coming in thick and fast, as routinely happens as the account of an incident unfolds.
We will treat the news that there were improvised bombs on Bourbon Street very cautiously.
CNN has now said it has confirmed that the suspect in the “mass casualty event” is dead. There will be another press conference held by the authorities in New Orleans at 11am ET.
Updated
Attacker 'hell-bent' on carnage, say police, amid reports suspect now dead
The New Orleans police say the attack on the public in the early hours was clearly intentional.
He was hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did. It was very intentional behavior. This man was trying to run over as many people as he could,” said the city police superintendent, Anne Kirkpatrick.
Two police officers who were shot after the driver emerged from the truck are in stable condition, she said, reported the Associated Press.
Officials did not immediately provide an update on the status of the driver, whether there was an ongoing threat to the public or offer a suspected motive in the fatal incident.
But CNN has been reporting, citing unnamed sources, that the suspect has been killed.
Updated
The incident occurred in a busy nightlife area of New Orleans’s French Quarter. Police urged people to stay away from the area. “We do not want anyone on Bourbon Street today,” police superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said in a press conference Wednesday morning, confirming that the FBI is taking over the investigation.
New Orleans mayor calls incident a ‘terrorist attack’
Mayor Cantrell has described today’s mass casualty incident as a “terrorist attack”.
In addition, it was announced the FBI is now taking over the investigation.
Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, said officials were investigating the discovery of at least one suspected improvised explosive device at the scene.
Updated
Key event
We’ve been hearing from the New Orleans mayor, LaToya Cantrell, and the police superintendent, Anne Kirkpatrick, at a press conference.
We’ll bring you the main lines from both and any further details on the incident as soon as we can.
Updated
Louisiana governor condemns 'horrific act of violence'
Jeff Landry, governor of Louisiana, has also posted on X today in the wake of the incident in Bourbon Street.
We’ve been reporting accounts from eyewitnesses who said the area was filled with New Year party revellers.
“A horrific act of violence took place on Bourbon Street earlier this morning,” Governor Landry said.
“Please join Sharon and I in praying for all the victims and first responders on scene.
“I urge all near the scene to avoid the area.”
Updated
More details of what happened in Bourbon Street are beginning to emerge.
According to reports on the ground from US network CBS, the white truck crashed into the victims at high speed while they were celebrating the New Year.
The driver, according to witnesses who spoke to CBS, then got out and began firing a weapon. Police then returned fire.
Updated
More now from New Orleans, which confirms 30 people have been injured and at least 10 killed.
The casualties have been transported to the following hospitals:
University medical center
Touro hospital
East Jefferson general hospital
Ochsner Medical Center Jefferson Campus
Ochsner Baptist Campus
Updated
Emergency response team warns people to stay away
Nola Ready, the city’s emergency preparedness team, has described today’s reported crash as a “mass casualty incident”.
Posting on X today, they have warned people to stay away from Canal and Bourbon Street while teams respond on scene.
The nature of injuries and the number of dead are unknown at this time, police have said.
Updated
At least 10 reported dead after vehicle driven into crowd
We know that at least 10 people are reported to have been killed after a vehicle drove into a crowd in New Orleans’ French Quarter early on Wednesday.
The incident came toward the end of New Year’s celebrations in New Orleans and hours before the kickoff of the AllState Bowl, a college football quarterfinal held in the city’s Caesars Superdome, with thousands expected to be in attendance.
A further 30 people are said to have been injured in the incident on Bourbon Street.
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