Around 0315 this morning, a white Ford F-150 Lightning pickup bypassed security bollards and drove at a high rate of speed down a section of Bourbon Street in New Orleans. At least 10 people were killed and more than 30 injured. The incident occurred as Bourbon Street and the French Quarter was packed with New Year’s Eve revelers.
The driver was engaged by NOPD. Gunfire was exchanged and the driver was killed. Two NOPD officers were wounded in the gun battle. At least one IED was found at the site. The latest reporting says the device was an actual explosive device.
New Orleans Mayor, LaToya Cantrell, immediately issued a statement calling this an act of terrorism. Meanwhile, the FBI, through a spokesperson, initially said it was not terror related.
Recent reports have identified the terrorist as 42-year-old Shamsud Din Jabbar. It is being reported that he had an ISIS flag on a pole attached to the truck as he drove through the crowd. A Glock handgun and a .308 caliber rifle were recovered from the crime scene.
President Trump Issued a statement on the attack on Truth Social at 0948 EDT this morning. He called the attack an . . .”act of pure evil” and offered his condolences to the victims.
POTATUS on the other hand tweeted out well wishes for the New Year around 1000 EDT and did not release an official statement for at least another hour. When that announcement came, it was . . . well, read it and make up your own minds.
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.
Just as I was going to publish, it was confirmed that the attacker was a US citizen, an Army Vet, and was born and raised in Texas. I wonder how long it is before the FBI has to admit he was known to them.