What we know about Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar

A driver behind the wheel of a pickup truck rammed into a crowd of New Orleans revellers on Bourbon Street early on New Year’s Day, killing more than a dozen people in what the FBI is investigating as an act of terrorism.

After the vehicle stopped, the driver emerged from the truck and opened fire on responding officers, New Orleans police said.

According to an official statement from New Orleans Coroner Dr Dwight McKenna, the death toll from the attack has now risen to 15.

Here is the latest of what we know about the massacre and the driver behind the wheel.

Emergency services attend the scene on Bourbon Street after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans’ Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (AP)

The FBI confirmed that it has identified the driver as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, a US citizen from Texas.

Jabbar was killed in a firefight with police following the attack around 3.15 am in an area teeming with New Year’s revellers, the FBI said.

A photo circulated among law enforcement officials showed a bearded Jabbar wearing camouflage next to the truck after he was killed by police.

Investigators are working to gather additional information about Jabbar’s background and investigating an Islamic State flag that was with the vehicle, the FBI said.

A US official said Jabbar served as an information technology specialist in the US Army.

He got out of the Army in 2015, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details that had not yet been made public.

The FBI investigates the area on Orleans St and Bourbon Street by St. Louis Cathedral in the French Quarter where a suspicious package was detonated after a person drove a truck into a crowd earlier on Bourbon Street on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Islamic State group flag found in vehicle

The FBI says it is still investigating Jabbar to determine “potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organisations.”

Teen who aspired to be a nurse among victims

A Mississippi man who was celebrating New Year’s Eve in New Orleans says his friend who dreamed of becoming a nurse was among the people killed in an attack on Bourbon Street.

Zion Parsons, 18, said a vehicle suddenly appeared and he watched it hit his friend, 18-year-old Nikyra Dedeaux. At least 10 people were killed.

Parsons described the crowd scattering and the gruesome aftermath.

“Bodies, bodies all up and down the street, everybody screaming and hollering” Parsons said.

He said he watched as authorities put a tarp over Dedeaux’s body. He later called Dedeaux’s family to tell them what had happened.

“I hadn’t had time to cry up until I called her mother and she asked me, ‘Where’s my baby’,” Parsons said. “That broke me.”

Officials insist people should feel safe in New Orleans

Officials say residents and visitors should feel safe in New Orleans even as they have repeatedly acknowledged that they are aggressively seeking additional possible suspects in the attack.

During a news conference, Gov. Jeff Landry bristled at a question about how officials were confident that Jabbar did not act alone, saying, “Why would we tell you?”

But a Louisiana State Police bulletin obtained by The Associated Press and circulated among law enforcement contained a possible clue.

Emergency services attend the scene on Bourbon Street after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans’ Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. () (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The document said surveillance footage captured three men and a woman placing one of multiple improvised explosive devices.

Investigators reviewed video of people placing an explosive device

Investigators have reviewed video showing three men and a woman placing an improvised explosive device in connection with the car attack that killed at least 10 people in New Orleans’ French Quarter.

That’s according to a Louisiana State Police bulletin obtained by The Associated Press.

The revelation could help explain why officials at a Wednesday news conference said that they were aggressively hunting for additional suspects and did not believe the driver of the pickup truck, 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, acted alone.

Truck used in attack was rented using Turo app, company says

The pickup truck used in the attack was rented via Turo, an app that connects drivers, known as “guests,” with vehicle owners, known as “hosts,” according to Steve Webb, the company’s vice president of communications.

New Orleans mayor LaToya Cantrell makes a statement after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans’ Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025 (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

“We are heartbroken to learn that one of our host’s vehicles was involved in this awful incident,” Webb said in an email. “We are actively partnering with the FBI. We are not currently aware of anything in this guest’s background that would have identified him as a trust and safety threat to us at the time of the reservation.”

New Orleans attacker drove around police car

Authorities say that the driver of the truck that rammed into the crowd in New Orleans drove onto a sidewalk, going around a police car that was positioned to block vehicular traffic and protect Bourbon Street revelers.

A barrier system designed to prevent vehicle attacks was undergoing repairs in preparation for the Super Bowl, which is being played in the city in February.

Sugar Bowl postponed after New Orleans attack

The Sugar Bowl has been postponed for 24 hours after an attack during New Year’s celebrations in New Orleans left 10 people dead and at least 35 injured.

AllState Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley says the College Football Playoff quarterfinal game between Georgia and Notre Dame will be held Thursday. It had been scheduled for Wednesday evening at the Superdome in New Orleans.

Hundley says the decision was made in the interest of public safety.

The scene after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. — The scene after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans’ Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

FBI believes New Orleans attacker may have had help

The FBI says it does not believe that the Texas man who killed at least 10 people in a suspected New Orleans terror attack acted alone.

Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, said at a news conference that officials are actively seeking any possible associates of the man, identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar.