The alleged perpetrator of the attack in New Orleans, which killed at least 14 people on New Year’s Day, appears to have acted alone, according to the Federal Police (FBI).
“We do not believe at this stage that other people were involved in the attack, other than Samsud-Din Jabbar,” the suspect who was killed in a shootout with police, Christopher Raya, a senior FBI official, said at a news conference.
The day before the attack, Jabbar had declared, in several videos, that he supports the Islamic State and that he has joined this jihadist organization.
Five videos were posted on the suspect’s Facebook account. In them he “explained that he originally planned to attack his family and friends” but was “concerned” that the headlines would not focus on “the war between believers and non-believers”, Raya said.
“It was a terrorist act, premeditated and satanic,” he added, stressing that the attacker “was 100% inspired by the Islamic State.
The attacker had planted two improvised explosive devices in the city’s French Quarter, where crowds had gathered to celebrate the New Year. “We recovered security camera footage showing him planting the bombs where they were found,” Raya said.
The FBI official said two laptops and three cell phones were found and seized during a search of the suspect’s home.
According to the FBI, there is “at this stage” no “disputable link” between the attack in New Orleans and the explosion of a Tesla electric car in Las Vegas.
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