The FBI now says the truck driver responsible for the deadly attack in New Orleans acted alone

Latest:

• The FBI says the truck driver in the New Orleans attack acted alone.
• The agency describes it as a terrorist act inspired by ISIS, a radical Islamist group.
• There is no “definitive” link between the Bourbon Street attack and the deadly explosion in Las Vegas.
• Authorities did not assess any “credible threat” to New Orleans before the New Year’s Day attack.

The FBI now says the pickup truck driver responsible for the deadly attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans acted alone.

A man rammed a rented truck into a New Year’s crowd in the city early Wednesday, killing 14 people and wounding dozens of others.

Officials initially said they were searching for additional possible suspects in the attack, which is being investigated as an act of terrorism.

But Christopher Raya, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counterterrorism division, said Thursday that evidence now shows that Shams al-Din Jabbar was solely responsible for the attack, and that he had pledged allegiance to ISIS.

“We are confident at this stage that there are no partners,” Raya told reporters.

Weapons and pipe bombs were found in the suspect’s car, according to a Louisiana State Police intelligence bulletin obtained by The Associated Press. The bulletin said the devices were hidden inside coolers and were wired for remote detonation with a remote control that was also found in the car.

“There were a lot of early reports of an additional number of people turning off coolers,” Raya said.

He explained that they turned out to be members of the public who simply picked up the already placed coolers.

“We didn’t know that at first, so we had to track that down and put it in place.”

Jabbar was killed after the car-ramming attack during an exchange of gunfire with the police.

“What I can say now is that he was 100 percent inspired by ISIS,” Raya said, adding that investigators are looking into more of his social media “to confirm more about this connection.”

The FBI said on Wednesday that it recovered an ISIS flag, black with white lettering, from the car used in the attack.

Officials had initially put the death toll at 15, but the FBI clarified on Thursday that the total death toll included Jabbar.

Raya also spoke about the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck left on Wednesday outside US President-elect Donald Trump’s hotel in Las Vegas, killing a man inside the vehicle. The incident sparked an intense investigation into possible terrorism linked to the New Orleans attack.

He added: “At this point, there is no confirmed connection between the attack here in New Orleans and the attack that occurred in Las Vegas.”

The electronic truck was loaded with fireworks mortars and camp fuel canisters. Three US officials told The Associated Press on Thursday that the person who died in the explosion was an active-duty US Army soldier. Law enforcement officials identified the man inside the futuristic-looking pickup truck as Matthew Livelsberger, and he is believed to have lived in Colorado.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said at the same Raya press conference that Bourbon Street will reopen before the Sugar Bowl football game, which is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. local time on Thursday.

Authorities did not assess any “credible threat” from the events on Bourbon Street early Wednesday, according to a joint assessment by Louisiana and New Orleans police obtained by Reuters.

The document is dated December 2024 and indicates there is no credible threat from international terrorists, domestic violent extremists, or domestic violent extremists.