The FBI has shared the movements of suspect Shamsud-Din Jabbar in the final days and hours leading up to his deadly New Orleans attack early New Year’s Day.
New details have emerged about how Jabbar, 42, traveled from his home in Houston, Texas, to New Orleans on New Year’s Eve in a rented pickup truck.
He later rammed it into a crowd on bustling Bourbon Street, filled with revelers enjoying the celebrations at approximately 3:15 a.m. on January 1.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Christopher Raia, the FBI’s deputy assistant director of its counter-terrorism division, said investigators are reviewing video footage of Jabbar recorded in the hours before the attack where he “proclaimed his support for ISIS.”
Jabbar joined ISIS before this summer, Raia said at the briefing.
The FBI and other agencies are combing through “hundreds of hours” of footage and surveillance, Raia added.
This is how the movements of the suspect unfolded in the days and hours leading up to the massacre.
December 30 - Suspect collects rental vehicle
According to Raia, Jabbar collected the rented Ford F-150 pickup truck that he used to plow into the crowd just over 24 hours later in Houston, Texas.
Jabbar moved north of Houston a year ago but previously lived in an apartment building in the city from 2021 to 2023.
December 31 - Jabbar drives from Houston to New Orleans
Jabbar then drove the roughly 350-mile journey from Houston to New Orleans on the evening of New Year’s Eve. During the journey, which is approximately a six-hour drive, Jabbar “posted several videos to an online platform proclaiming his support for ISIS,” Raia said.
The suspect was staying in an Airbnb property on Mandeville Street. Authorities did not detail the timings of when he arrived at the apartment, but Raia confirmed the address was still being searched by investigators. A neighbor told CNN that their Ring camera captured footage of Jabbar unloading his car at 10:02 p.m. Tuesday.
Two laptops were recovered at the Mandeville address and are currently being analyzed.
January 1, 2025 - Suspect posts ISIS videos, plants IEDs and carries out attack
Raia did not specify the exact timings, but he told the briefing that Jabbar planted two explosive devices in coolers — one near the cross-section of Bourbon and Orleans Street, and the second at an intersection approximately two blocks away — “probably after midnight.”
When asked what time Jabbar planted the devices, Raia said: “I don’t have the exact times in front of me…probably after midnight… I want to say 1 or 2 in the morning.”
Surveillance footage later captured the moment Jabbar planted the devices and Raia said the FBI believes he left the scene after positioning the explosives before returning with the pickup truck later on. They were functional, but rendered safe at the scene, Raia said.
Raia appealed for witnesses to come forward.
“We want to talk to anyone who was in the French Quarter on New Year’s Eve or early on New Year’s Day,” he said. “That includes people spotted near one of the two IEDs on Bourbon Street. Many people stopped and looked at the cooler and then continued on their way.”
He clarified that authorities do not believe those people are involved but are needed as witnesses.
Jabbar also posted videos time-stamped at 1:29 a.m. and another at 3:02 a.m. — the latter just 10 minutes or so before he rammed the pickup truck into the crowd of revelers.
“In the first video, Jabbar explains he originally planned to harm his family and friends but was concerned the news headlines would not focus on the ‘war between the believers and the disbelievers,’” Raia said during the briefing. “Additionally, he stated he had joined ISIS before this summer.”
Meanwhile, sometime after the suspect carried out his attack on Bourbon Street, a fire broke out at the Mandeville address. Raia said that the FBI is currently working on the assumption that it started after the suspect was killed in the standoff with officers.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry added that authorities may be able to “walk everyone through” a full timeline of the incident by early next week.
