The man who drove the truck onto Bourbon Street was identified by the FBI as Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbarwho died in a shootout with the police, while intervening at the scene. Jabbar was a 42-year-old U.S. Army veteran from Texas who carried the Islamic State flag on his truck. The FBI said it was investigating the episode as a possible act of terrorism.
The attack occurred around 3:15 a.m. on Wednesday, the man drove his truck into a police car blocking Bourbon Street and ran over several people before crashing. He then opened fire and died in the shootout with the police.
The investigation team said improvised explosive devices were found in the van and were trying to determine if the devices were viable. It is not clear if any of those devices detonated. Alethea Duncan, an FBI official, did not rule out that there could be an ongoing threat, and said agents were following leads to try to make sure there was no further danger.
Mr. Jabbar spent nearly eight years in the United States Army, serving in Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010, according to an Army representative. He transferred to the Army Reserve after leaving active duty in January 2015, and then left the reserves as a first sergeant in July 2020.
After his career in the army, he worked in the real estate sector, as can be seen in a YouTube video published in 2020; In it he said that he had been born and raised in Beaumont, Texas. It also said that in his 10 years in the military, he had worked as a human resources specialist and an information technology specialist.
The shooting occurred near the intersection of Canal and Bourbon streets.in the city’s historic French Quarter, the heart of Louisiana’s tourism industry and engine of the state’s economy. Bourbon Street is famous for its festivals and parties, including Mardi Gras, and attracts tourists from all over the world year-round.
The recently elected Donald Trump took advantage of this terrible fact to continue promoting his racist ideology and was quick to say that the attack had been perpetrated by an illegal immigrant, however, it was immediately proven that the person who committed the massacre was an American citizen, an army veteran. of that country.
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but the terrorist in the New Orleans attack was an American citizen born in Texas, NOT an undocumented immigrant, and he was even a Veteran of the U.S. Army.
It’s only the FIRST day of the New Year, and trump is already saying dumb shit. pic.twitter.com/5E0A9UA8LG
— BrooklynDad_Defiant!☮️ (@mmpadellan) January 1, 2025
With information from the New York Times and Red X
Source: www.laizquierdadiario.com
