A shocking and devastating incident unfolded in New Orleans when a U.S. Army veteran drove a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year’s Eve revelers, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens more. The horrific attack took place on Wednesday in the French Quarter, one of the city’s busiest areas, where people were celebrating the arrival of 2025.
The attacker, later identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was killed in an exchange of gunfire with law enforcement officers at the end of a chaotic and violent rampage.
FBI Launches Investigation Into Terrorism Links
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is treating the incident as an act of terrorism because investigators discovered an ISIS flag inside the vehicle and are probing connections to possible terrorist involvement. Authorities believe that Jabbar did not work alone.
Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen from Texas, served over a decade in the military and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2009-2010. He had personal and financial struggles that may have contributed to his actions, although he had no military background that would suggest violent behavior.
Eyewitness Accounts Describe Scenes of Chaos
Eyewitness accounts to the attack reported it to be an act of complete mayhem. Bodies were being flung into the air as the truck ran amok in the crowd. Witness Zion Parsons likened the situation to a “war zone” and said, “Bodies, blood on the street. Everywhere.” Bodies are seen on the ground with people in a fetal position as if trying to find an escape route from the killings. It is such acts of horror and brutality that traumatized many within the area.
In reaction to the attack, President Joe Biden condemned it sternly, stating that no cause can justify such violence. “We will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation’s communities,” he said. President-elect Donald Trump, on the other hand, blamed the attack on illegal immigration, even though the FBI has not yet found a direct connection between this and immigration.
International leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, expressed their condolences and solidarity with the victims and their families. Macron extended his thoughts to the victims, while Zelensky emphasized that violence and terrorism should not be tolerated anywhere in the world.
Link Between New Orleans And Las Vegas Attacks?
In a different but potentially connected incident, a Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, killing one person and injuring several others. While authorities were initially considering that the explosion was an isolated incident, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the two attacks might be connected. He pointed out that both the Cybertruck and the pickup truck used in the New Orleans attack were rented from Turo, hence the possible link between the incidents.
The FBI and local police are investigating the circumstances of both incidents. As the link between the Las Vegas explosion and the New Orleans attack is still not clear, authorities are taking it with a pinch of salt and suspecting a coordinated terrorist activity.
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