Officials investigate possible links between New Orleans attack, Cybertruck explosion
Sierra One Consulting founder Rob D'Amico joined 'Fox & Friends First' to discuss the possible connections between the New Orleans terror attack and the Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside President-elect Trump's Las Vegas hotel.
The FBI on Thursday said investigators now believe the New Orleans terror attack suspect acted alone, despite previously considering a possible link to the Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside President-elect Trump's Las Vegas hotel.
The FBI made the announcement at a press conference on Thursday. They have identified Shamsud-Din Jabbar as the driver who crashed a rented truck into a crowd of New Year's revelers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing at least 14 people and injuring dozens more. He was killed in a shootout with police afterward.
"As you know, there's also an FBI investigation in Las Vegas. We are following up on all potential leads and not ruling anything out. However, at this point, there is no definitive link between the attack here in New Orleans and the one in Las Vegas," FBI Deputy Assistant Director of the Counterterrorism Division Christopher Raia told reporters Thursday.
Authorities had been investigating a potential military connection between Jabbar and the Las Vegas suspect, who law enforcement identified to The Associated Press as Matthew Livelsberger.
Supporting the FBI's updated assessment, a U.S. defense official told Fox News on Thursday that there is no evidence from their military service to make any connection that the New Orleans attack and the Las Vegas incident were related.
Both Jabbar and Livelsberger served at Fort Liberty — formerly known as Fort Bragg — in North Carolina, but a U.S. official said there was no overlap to their assignments there. They served at the same base, but at different times. And for context, more than 50,000 U.S. service members are currently stationed at Fort Liberty.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill previously told Fox News that there is evidence that Jabbar worked alongside accomplices to coordinate the attack. The FBI told Fox News later Thursday that they no longer believe other suspects were involved in the attack, which killed at least 14 people and wounded dozens of others.
Authorities say Jabbar considered killing his friends and family prior to the attack, but decided against it because he thought it would have less of an impact.
Jabbar had posted videos to social media prior to his attack expressing allegiance to the Islamic State. Investigators say Jabbar rented the truck used in the attack on Monday in Houston and then drove to New Orleans on Tuesday.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT VICTIMS OF NEW ORLEANS TERRORIST ATTACK
Photo of Bourbon Street terrorist attack suspect Shamsud-Din Jabbar. (@FBI via X)
"FBI special agents and our law enforcement partners are currently conducting a number of court-authorized search warrants in New Orleans and other states," the bureau said in a statement. "The FBI's Evidence Response Team continues to process the crime scene to meticulously gather all relevant evidence."
SUSPECT IDENTIFIED AS FBI INVESTIGATES ACT OF TERRORISM AFTER BOURBON STREET ATTACK
Investigators found guns in Jabbar's vehicle and two improvised explosive devices inside coolers elsewhere in the French Quarter. The FBI says it obtained footage of Jabbar placing the two devices.
Police also recovered guns and two laptops that they believe belong to Jabbar.
The FBI told congressional lawmakers on Thursday that it had zero information about Jabbar prior to his attack. They also said that while Jabbar has said he was "inspired" by ISIS, investigators have not found any evidence that he was directed by ISIS.
New Orleans hospitals treated a total of 37 victims who were injured in Wednesday's attack. LCMC Health has not stated how many of those injured have since been discharged, nor has it clarified the condition of those still hospitalized.
Jabbar, a U.S. native born in Texas, had previously served in the U.S. military. Authorities are still investigating how and when he became radicalized.
Jabbar served in the Army as a Human Resource Specialist and Information Technology (IT) Specialist from March 2007 until January 2015.
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Following active duty, he served in the Army Reserves as an IT Specialist from January 2015 until July 2020.
During his tenure, he deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010.
After leaving the military, Jabbar obtained a job at Deloitte, earning a salary of roughly $120,000 per year. He ran into financial struggles following two divorces, however.
Attorney General of Louisiana Liz Murrill has threatened the death penalty for any accomplices of Shamsud-Din Jabbar. (Attorney General of Louisiana Liz Murrill )
Authorities searched an AirBnB in New Orleans believed to be connected to Jabbar. They also executed a search warrant at his main residence in Houston.
Relatives of Jabbar said he had been acting erratically in recent months. Dwayne Marsh, the husband of Jabbar's ex-wife, said they stopped allowing his wife's shared daughters to spend time with Jabbar, according to The New York Times.
The attack led authorities to postpone the Sugar Bowl on Wednesday night. The sporting event is now scheduled to take place on Thursday night, though some officials have called for the event to be delayed further.
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Meanwhile, President-elect Trump called on the CIA to get involved in the investigation, blasting Jabbar as "violent scum" and the current administration as "incompetent and corrupt."
His statement came after a Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside Trump Hotel in Las Vegas. It remains unclear whether the bombing, which killed one person who was inside the vehicle, is linked to the New Orleans attack. Authorities are investigating a possible military connection between Jabbar and the suspect in the Las Vegas case.
The FBI is conducting sweeps of potential residences in Las Vegas as well as Denver in relation to the Trump Hotel bombing.
An investigator photographs a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the lobby of President-elect Donald Trump's hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday. At least one person was killed and seven wounded. (Wade Vandervort/AFP via Getty Images)
"Our Country is a disaster, a laughing stock all over the World! This is what happens when you have OPEN BORDERS, with weak, ineffective, and virtually nonexistent leadership. The DOJ, FBI, and Democrat state and local prosecutors have not done their job. They are incompetent and corrupt, having spent all of their waking hours unlawfully attacking their political opponent, ME, rather than focusing on protecting Americans from the outside and inside violent SCUM that has infiltrated all aspects of our government, and our Nation itself," Trump wrote on social media.
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"Democrats should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this to happen to our Country. The CIA must get involved, NOW, before it is too late. The USA is breaking down - A violent erosion of Safety, National Security, and Democracy is taking place all across our Nation. Only strength and powerful leadership will stop it. See you on January 20th. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" he added.
Fox News' Liz Friden contributed to this report.
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