John Jefferson
The FBI has released a new image of New Orleans terrorist attacker Shamsud-Din Jabbar along with new details about his internet search history as the investigation into the New Year’s attack continues.
In a press release, the FBI said the Bourbon Street terrorist’s internet history showed he was looking into Bourbon Street balcony access, information on Mardi Gras and shootings that happened in the city, as late as mid-November.
Investigators also revealed that Jabbar researched the Christmas market ramming attack in Germany just hours before the attack on Bourbon Street.
On Nov. 10, officials said, Jabbar took a train from Houston, Texas to New Orleans and returned to Texas that evening on a bus.
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While in the city, investigators learned that Jabbar looked at an apartment for rent on Orleans Street. Just days after his trip, he applied to rent the apartment but later told the landlord he changed his mind.
He also used Meta smart glasses to take videos of his surroundings as he rode a bike through the French Quarter months before carrying out the deadly attack.
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The FBI noted earlier this month that Jabbar traveled to Cairo, Egypt, from June 22 to July 3, 2023, then returned to the U.S. In a separate trip on July 10, 2023, he traveled to Ontario, Canada, and returned to the U.S. a few days later.
Officials say evidence obtained in the ongoing investigation indicates Jabbar became a “more devout Muslim in 2022” and began following extremist views in the spring of 2024.
“It’s pretty clear so far that this is a guy who was radicalized online and who was determined to try to murder as many innocent people as he could in the name of ISIS,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a previous interview with “60 Minutes.”
FBI officials also updated the number of injured in the attack to 57 — up from the FBI’s previous reported number of 35.
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Officials said a total of 136 victims have been identified, including two businesses that suffered damage.
Jabbar killed 14 civilians when he rammed a rented Ford F-150 truck through a New Year’s crowd celebrating on Bourbon Street around 3:15 a.m. on Jan. 1. He then began shooting at police, who returned fire, killing the attacker.
“The FBI, along with our partners, continue to work around the clock to determine what motivated Shamsud-Din Jabbar to drive his truck into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street. Thanks to the overwhelming response from the public, the FBI is closer to getting answers for those families who lost loved ones and the other victims of the New Year’s Day attack,” FBI officials said in a statement.
As the investigation continues, the FBI is urging anyone with information or video of the incident to reach out to www.fbi.gov/bourbonstreetattack or call 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Fox News’ Audrey Conklin and Patrick McGovern contributed to this report.
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