New Orleans terrorist chose Bourbon Street for maximum carnage: timeline

A 42-year-old Texas native swore allegiance to the ISIS terror group and plowed a pickup trip into a crowd of New Year's revelers on New Orleans' famous Bourbon Street early Wednesday, killing at least 14 and injuring more than 30 others. 

The FBI identified the killer as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a twice-divorced Army veteran who, despite a lucrative job at a large consulting firm, had a history of financial struggles and missed child support payments, records show.

Much of the information came from FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia and ATF Special Agent Joshua Jackson, as part of a joint investigation into the attack.

"Let me be clear about this point," Raia told reporters Thursday. "This was an act of terrorism. It was premeditated and an evil act."

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT VICTIMS OF NEW ORLEANS TERRORIST ATTACK

Anyone with information on the attack or Jabbar, or who was on Bourbon Street for New Year's, is asked to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI. Tips, including photos and videos, can also be submitted online.

Here is a timeline of events:

Egypt trip – 2023

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, the FBI said during a press conference. 

It was unclear whether the visit was connected to the attack, but FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia said the agency is investigating whether Jabbar had any associates in the U.S. or overseas.

"All investigative details and evidence that we have now still support that Jabbar acted alone here in New Orleans," said Raia. "We have not seen any indications of an accomplice in the United States, but we are still looking into potential associates in the U.S. and outside of our borders."

Scouting the scene – 2024

In October and November, Jabbar visited New Orleans at least twice, using Meta eyeglasses to take video of sections of Bourbon Street.

Monday, Dec. 30, 2024

Jabbar picks up a Ford F-150 EV rental in Houston, according to authorities.

He used the Turo app to obtain the vehicle, the same app authorities say was used in a separate EV explosion in Las Vegas, Nevada, where a Tesla Cybertruck exploded at the front door of the Trump Hotel.

Raia said the FBI had found "no definitive link" between the two attacks but noted it was "very early" in the investigation. Both Jabbar and the man involved in that explosion, Matthew Livelsberger, served in the Army and were deployed to Afghanistan in 2009.

Both had also been stationed at Fort Liberty, however, investigators said there was no known overlap in their assignments at the North Carolina base, which currently has more than 50,000 servicemen and women stationed there. It was also not immediately clear they had been deployed in the same region of Afghanistan.

SUSPECT IDENTIFIED AS FBI INVESTIGATES ACT OF TERRORISM AFTER BOURBON STREET ATTACK

Jabbar explains he originally planned to harm his family and friends, but was concerned the news headlines would not focus on the, quote, ‘war between the believers and the disbelievers.'

— Christopher Raia, FBI

Tuesday, Dec. 31

Jabbar bought two coolers that he later used to conceal IEDs on Bourbon Street and drove from Houston to New Orleans – about 350 miles.

During the journey, he posted five videos about the attack and his motive to Facebook, Raia said.

In the first video, posted at 1:29 a.m., Jabbar revealed he changed his plans in order to try and attract as much attention as possible to the crime.

BOMBMAKING MATERIALS FOUND AT NEW ORLEANS AIRBNB POTENTIALLY TIED TO BOURBON STREET TERRORIST: REPORT

"Jabbar explains he originally planned to harm his family and friends, but was concerned the news headlines would not focus on the, quote, ‘war between the believers and the disbelievers,’" Raia said.

Jabbar's final video was posted at 3:02 a.m.

"Additionally, he stated he had joined ISIS before this summer," Raia said. "He also provided a will and testament."

Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025

At some point before the attack, within "roughly a couple hours," Jabbar planted at least two IEDs in the area, according to Raia. They failed to detonate due to his makeshift detonators, according to ATF Special Agent Joshua Jackson, head of the New Orleans Field Division.

Then at 3:17 a.m., Jabbar sped around a police car at the end of Bourbon Street and accelerated toward throngs of pedestrians, New Orleans police said. 

He was wearing Meta glasses once again, but does not appear to have livestreamed the attack, which killed at least 14 people, and Jabbar died in a shootout with police after crashing the truck.

INVESTIGATION CONTINUES, AS FBI SAYS NO OTHER SUSPECTS INVOLVED

More than 30 other people were injured.

Police recovered an Islamic State group flag in Jabbar's truck, at least three cellphones and other devices. He had planted two IEDs concealed in coolers along Bourbon Street, and authorities were able to disarm them safely.

The FBI immediately took a lead role in the investigation, city police said.

Later in the day, the FBI identified Jabbar as the suspect and released a photo. Other photos from the scene appear to show the ISIS flag mounted to the truck's trailer hitch.

Federal investigators were looking to speak with anyone who was in the area before, during and after the attack.

"We want to talk to anyone who was in the French Quarter on New Year's Eve or early on New Year's Day," Raia said. "That includes people spotted near one of the two IEDs on Bourbon Street. The IED was inside a cooler and maybe people stopped and looked at the cooler and then continued on their way."

He said they are not considered suspects "in any way."

An Airbnb that may be linked to the attacker burst out in flames around 5:30 a.m., according to New Orleans' FOX 8. Investigators said they later found bombmaking materials inside. Raia acknowledged that the FBI was searching a house with a Mandeville address for evidence in connection with the case. 

"Our working theory now is that the fire started after Jabar was already deceased," ATF Special Agent Joshua Jackson later told reporters.

He said investigators were still looking into the cause.

Police recovered a "transmitter," two guns and shell casings from the scene where he opened fire on officers and died when they returned fire. The transmitter was part of his failed plan to detonate the cooler bombs.

OFFICIALS POSTPONE SUGAR BOWL IN  THE WAKE OF APPARENT TERROR ATTACK ON BOURBON STREET

Thursday, Jan. 2

Authorities continued to release additional details about the attacker and search homes in both Houston and New Orleans.

On a call with congressional lawmakers, the FBI revealed it had no intelligence on Jabbar prior to the attack.

"The FBI on the call said that they had no knowledge of Jabbar – he was not on their radar," Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee who was on the call, told Fox News. "They had no intel about him. He wasn't someone they were watching. And I think that is incredibly scary because we've always heard about the sleeper cells that exist in our country."

Prior to the attack, Jabbar served in the U.S. Army. He was a human resource specialist and IT specialist from March 2007 until 2015. He then continued as an IT specialist in the Army Reserve until July 2020. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

More recently, he worked for Deloitte, a major international accounting firm.

Fox News' Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Liz Friden, Brooke Curto, Jennifer Griffin, Stephen Sorace, Aishah Hasnie, Chad Pergram and the Associated Press contributed to this report.