A British man who was killed when the driver of a white pickup truck sped down Bourbon Street packed with holiday revelers was identified Saturday as the stepson of a former nanny to the Royal Family. Prince William expressed shock and sadness at the news of the death of Edward Pettifer of London.

Only one person remains unidentified of the 14 victims killed in the New Orleans truck attack. The coroner’s office said all the victims died from blunt force injuries. The coroner said Friday that they were working to identify a female victim. The suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was fatally shot in a firefight with police.

The youngest victim was 18 years old and the oldest 63. Most victims were in their 20s. They came from from Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, New Jersey and Great Britain.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said the innocent lives lost will never be forgotten, as he declared on Friday a period of mourning for the victims, which is scheduled to begin Jan. 6. A different victim is to be remembered each day.

“However, Louisiana and her people will never cower in fear,” he said. “Instead, we will unite and come back stronger in honor of every person who lost their lives that day.”

About 30 people were injured and 16 remain hospitalized, half in intensive care.

Thirty-one year old Edward Pettifer, a British citizen, was identified Saturday as one of the 14 victims killed in the truck attack.

Pettifer’s family said they were “devastated at the tragic news of Ed‘s death” and described him as “a wonderful son, brother, grandson, nephew and a friend to so many.”

“We will all miss him terribly. Our thoughts are with the other families who have lost their family members due to this terrible attack,” the family added.

The U.K.’s Foreign Office also said it was supporting Pettifer’s family and was in contact with U.S. authorities.

Brandon Taylor, 43, of Harvey, Louisiana, was killed when the pickup truck careened down Bourbon Street.

Elliot Wilkinson, 40, of Slidell, Louisiana, died in the New Year’s attack. Cecil Wilkinson said in a message to his little brother, Elliot Wilkinson, on Facebook that he was loved “and you will truly be missed.”

“I know life was hard for you at times. But I wasn’t expecting to get the phone call this morning you was one of them that got hit in New Orleans in the French Quarter,” Wilkinson said in the post.

After years working in the service industry and maintenance, New Orleans native Terrence Kennedy spent his retirement doing what he loved: strolling down to catch the ever-present party in the French Quarter.

“Bourbon is like a free party,” his niece, Monisha James, told The Associated Press. “He was enjoying his city that he enjoyed for 63 years.”

James said her uncle liked to people-watch around the French Quarter and often sparked conversations with strangers. “That was what he was doing to enjoy his retirement,” she said.

Kennedy had told his sister on New Year’s Eve that he was going out. When he didn’t answer the phone the next morning, the family spent a frantic day searching until the coroner confirmed he died in the New Year’s Day attack.

The family still doesn’t know if he died from the car’s impact or gunshot wounds; all they were told is that he was still alive when he got to the hospital.

James, 43, described her uncle as a humble helper and a handyman. Whether it was fixing up a house or playing with his nieces and nephews, he was always eager to serve others.

“Just a sweet, kind, loving, helpful person that would not harm anyone,” James said.

Sadly, illness had affected his family in recent years. Four of Kennedy’s siblings died before him, including a sister who had passed away a month earlier. The violent nature of Kennedy’s death stunned the family, on top of everything they’ve been through lately. Right now, said James, they’re supporting each other.

“That’s such a shock to our family because never in a million years would you be able to tell me that’s what happened to him,” she said.

Kennedy’s younger sister Jacqueline Kennedy, 59, said her brother was known for his big heart and his love of sports.

“My brother had a kind heart. He was loving and caring and giving and he loved the Pittsburgh Steelers,” she said.

Billy DiMaio, 25, of Holmdel, New Jersey, was humble and gentled-hearted, so devoted to family that he had a tattoo featuring all of his cousins’ names, his parents told NOLA.com.

A New York City-based account executive for the media company Audacy, DiMaio was in New Orleans to celebrate New Year’s Eve and see friends who planned to go to the Sugar Bowl, Tracie and Bill DiMaio, of Holmdel, New Jersey, told the news site. His friends escaped injury.

“He was a good, humble kid,” Bill DiMaio said. “He loved life.”

Billy DiMaio grew up on Long Island, New York, before the family moved to New Jersey. He graduated in 2022 from Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, where he was on the lacrosse team and earned a master’s degree.

“He was a pure, gentle-hearted soul,” his mother said. “He will be truly missed.”

He had worked for Audacy since 2023.

“Beyond his professional achievements, Billy will be fondly remembered for his unwavering work ethic, positive attitude, and kindness,” Audacy said in an emailed statement.

Hurbert Gauthreaux, 21, of Gretna, Louisiana, was among the victims, the coroner’s office said.

Archbishop Shaw High School, in Marrero, Louisiana, posted on Facebook that Gauthreaux was from the class of 2021.

Gauthreaux “was tragically killed in the senseless act of violence that occurred early this morning in the French Quarter. He was 21 years old,” the Catholic boys school posted Wednesday.

Kareem Badawi, 23, was a University of Alabama freshman when he was killed in the attack. A native of Louisiana and a graduate of the Episcopal School of Baton Rouge, Badawi had started at the Alabama university this fall.

“My son was full of life,” his father Belal Badawi said in an interview.

Back home in Baton Rouge for winter break, Badawi had gone to New Orleans with friends to celebrate the new year, his father said. After they saw the news of the truck attack, they tried to reach Kareem, but he didn’t answer.

“Then I saw his phone when I tracked it was in the area that it happened,” belal Badawi said. “So, then we knew that’s something wrong. He’s not answering. We drove to New Orleans. We live in Baton Rouge, we went to the hospital and we waited a few hours and the FBI came with the list of all the casualties.”

Badawi said he was a lovely boy.

“I lost my son. He’s a good boy,” he said of his son. “Unfortunately, his life ended that quick and with no reason. Just nothing he did to deserve for somebody to come and kill him.”

Andrew Dauphin, 26, of Montgomery, Alabama, did in the attack.

Christopher B. Roberts, president of Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, said on the social platform X that Dauphin was 2023 graduate.

“Words cannot convey the sorrow the Auburn Family feels for Drew’s family and friends during this unimaginably difficult time,” Roberts said. “Our thoughts are with the Dauphin family and the families of all the victims of this senseless tragedy.”

Dauphin was a supplier process engineer at the American Honda Motor Company in Birmingham, Alabama, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Matthew Tenedorio of Picayune, Mississippi, was killed in the truck attack, the coroner’s office said.

“He was 25 years old. He was just starting life. He had the job of his dreams,” his mother, Cathy Tenedorio, told NBC News. “It’s just very sad.”

A GoFundMe page created by a cousin says he was an audiovisual technician at the Superdome.

“He was a wonderful kid,” Louis Tenedorio added. “He loved people. He loved animals. He always had a smile. So many friends. He had so many friends.”

Cathy Tenedorio said she had spent New Year’s Eve with Matthew and another one of her sons.

“We had dinner and we did fireworks outside, and just laughing and hugging each other and telling each other we loved each other,” she said. She added that they had tried to dissuade him from going into the city.

“They don’t think about risk,” she said.

Zion Parsons, of Gulfport, Mississippi, had been celebrating New Year’s Eve at his first night on Bourbon Street when a vehicle appeared and plowed into his friend, Nikyra Dedeaux, 18, who he said had dreamed of becoming a nurse.

“A truck hit the corner and comes barreling through throwing people like in a movie scene, throwing people into the air,” Parsons told The Associated Press. “It hit her and flung her like at least 30 feet and I was just lucky to be alive.”

As the crowd scattered in the chaos he ran through a gruesome aftermath of bleeding and maimed victims, hearing gunshots and explosive sounds.

“Bodies, bodies all up and down the street, everybody screaming and hollering” Parsons said. “People crying on the floor, like brain matter all over the ground. It was just insane, like the closest thing to a war zone that I’ve ever seen.”

Dedeaux had a job at a hospital and was set to start college and begin working towards her goal of becoming a registered nurse.

“She had her mindset — she didn’t have everything figured out but she had the plan laid down,” Parsons said.

A 37-year-old father of two from Baton Rouge, Reggie Hunter had just left work and headed to celebrate New Year’s with a cousin when the attack happened, his first cousin Shirell Jackson told Nola.com.

Hunter died and his cousin was injured, Jackson said. The coroner’s office said he was from Prairieville, Louisiana.

Tiger Bech, a 27-year-old former high school and college football player from Louisiana was among those killed.

Kim Broussard, athletic director at St. Thomas More Catholic High School in Lafayette, told NOLA.com that Bech attended the high school, where he played wide receiver, quarterback, punt returner and defensive back. Bech played football at Princeton University before graduating in 2021.

Marty Cannon, STM principal and former coach of Bech, said he was charismatic, intelligent and an incredibly talented football player. He regularly returned home to visit his tight-knit family, close friends and people at the school. He was home over Christmas.

“We live in a relatively small community here where not a lot of people leave but many do,” Cannon said. “I’m not surprised at all that Tiger could take off from south Louisiana and go off and get an amazing education at a place like Princeton and then lock himself into a community up there and just flourish. He’s that kind of guy.”

Bech has been working at Seaport Global. “He was extremely well regarded by everybody who knew him,” said company spokesperson Lisa Lieberman.

Nicole Perez was a single mother to a 4-year-old son working hard to make life better for her family when she was killed, according to her employer.

Perez, 27, was recently promoted to manager at Kimmy’s Deli in Metairie, Louisiana, and “was really excited about it,” deli owner Kimberly Usher said in an interview with the AP. Usher confirmed Perez’s death through her sister, who also works for her.

Usher said Perez would walk in the morning to the deli, which opened at breakfast time, and ask lots of questions about the business side of the operations. She also was permitted to bring her son, Melo, to work.

“She was a really good mom,” said Usher, who started a GoFundMe account to cover Perez’s burial costs and to help with expenses for her son that “he will need to transition into a new living situation,” the donation request says.

— Heaven Sensky-Kirsch said her father, Jeremi Sensky, endured 10 hours of surgery for injuries that included two broken legs. He was taken off a ventilator Thursday.

Jeremi Sensky was ejected from the wheelchair he was using and had bruises to his face and head, Sensky-Kirsch said in a phone interview from a hospital intensive care unit.

“He’s talking right now,” Sensky-Kirsch said late Thursday morning.

Sensky, 51, who works in the family’s tree service business, had driven from his home in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, to New Orleans to celebrate the holiday.

Before the attack, Sensky and the two friends had been having pizza, his daughter said. Sensky left them to return to his hotel on Canal Street because he felt cold, she said.

Sensky-Kirsch said others could see the attacker coming and were able to run out of the way, but her father “was stuck on the road.” His wheelchair can be seen in some images lodged against a crane.

When he didn’t return to the hotel, they went to look for him, she said.

“We thought he was dead,” Sensky-Kirsch said. “We can’t believe he’s alive.”

— Ryan Quigley, who was a teammate of Bech’s at Princeton, was with him when they were struck by the truck. Quigley was injured, according to family and friends.

“Ryan is doing okay. He is stable and resting in the company of his family and friends,” the Quigleys said in an update on a GoFundMe page set up by his friends. “Ryan loves you all. Please keep the Bech family, the other families, and all of those affected by this tragedy in your prayers. Thank you all.”

— University of Georgia President Jere W. Morehead said on X that a student was critically injured in the attack and is receiving medical treatment. He did not name the student.

— The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on X that two Israeli citizens were injured in the attack.

— University of Mississippi Chancellor Glenn Boyce said Thursday that one of the university’s students was critically injured in New Orleans. Boyce did not identify the student.

London:

King Charles III was on Saturday said to be “deeply saddened” after police said a British relative of his sons’ former nanny was among the victims of the deadly truck-ramming attack in New Orleans.

Edward Pettifer, 31, who died in the atrocity, was the stepson of Prince William and Prince Harry’s former nanny Tiggy Pettifer.

It was “understood the King was… deeply saddened, and had been in touch with the family to share personal condolences”, the UK’s Press Association news agency said in a report.

Heir to the throne Prince William said he and his wife Catherine had also been “shocked and saddened by the tragic death of Ed Pettifer”.

“Our thoughts and prayers remain with the Pettifer family and all those innocent people who have been tragically impacted by this horrific attack,” he wrote on the couple’s Kensington Palace social media account.

Pettifer’s half-brother Tom is one of William’s godsons and was a page boy at his wedding to Catherine, the Princess of Wales, in 2011.

In 1993, Charles employed Tiggy Legge-Bourke, now Pettifer, whose family had longstanding links to the royals, as a nanny for William and his younger brother Harry after his separation from their mother, Princess Diana.

“The entire family are devastated at the tragic news of Ed’s death in New Orleans. He was a wonderful son, brother, grandson, nephew, and a friend to so many. We will all miss him terribly,” the Pettifer family said in a statement.

On New Year’s Day a US army veteran, who the FBI says pledged loyalty to the Islamic State jihadist group, used a pickup truck to kill and wound revellers in New Orleans’s crowded French Quarter, before being killed by police.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he was “extremely saddened” to learn a British man had been among those killed in the attack.

“We are supporting his family and stand united with the US against terror threats,” he wrote on X.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

A U.S. Army veteran who flew a black Islamic State flag on a truck that he rammed into New Year’s revelers in New Orleans shows how the extremist group still retains the ability to inspire violence despite suffering years of losses to a U.S.-led military coalition.

At the height of its power from 2014-2017, the Islamic State “caliphate” imposed death and torture on communities in vast swathes of Iraq and Syria and enjoyed franchises across the Middle East.

Its then-leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, killed in 2019 by U.S. special forces in northwestern Syria, rose from obscurity to lead the ultra-hardline group and declare himself “caliph” of all Muslims.

The caliphate collapsed in 2017 in Iraq, where it once had a base just a 30-minute drive from Baghdad, and in Syria in 2019, after a sustained military campaign by a U.S.-led coalition.

Islamic State responded by scattering in autonomous cells, its leadership is clandestine and its overall size is hard to quantify. The U.N. estimates it at 10,000 in its heartlands.

The U.S.-led coalition, including some 4,000 U.S. troops in Syria and Iraq, has continued hammering the militants with airstrikes and raids that the U.S. military says have seen hundreds of fighters and leaders killed and captured.

Yet Islamic State has managed some major operations while striving to rebuild and it continues to inspire lone wolf attacks such as the one in New Orleans which killed 14 people.

Those assaults include one by gunmen on a Russian music hall in March 2024 that killed at least 143 people, and two explosions targeting an official ceremony in the Iranian city of Kerman in January 2024 that killed nearly 100.

Despite the counterterrorism pressure, ISIS has regrouped, “repaired its media operations, and restarted external plotting,” Acting U.S. Director for the National Counterterrorism Center Brett Holmgren warned in October.

Geopolitical factors have aided Islamic State. Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has caused widespread anger that jihadists use for recruitment. The risks to Syrian Kurds who are holding thousands of Islamic State prisoners could also create an opening for the group.

Islamic State has not claimed responsibility for the New Orleans attack or praised it on its social media sites, although its supporters have, U.S. law enforcement agencies said.

A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there had been growing concern about Islamic State increasing its recruiting efforts and resurging in Syria.

Those worries were heightened after the fall in December of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the potential for the militant group to fill the vacuum.

‘MOMENTS OF PROMISE’

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned that Islamic State will try to use this period of uncertainty to re-establish capabilities in Syria, but said the United States is determined not to let that happen.

“History shows how quickly moments of promise can descend into conflict and violence,” he said.

A U.N. team that monitors Islamic State activities reported to the U.N. Security Council in July a “risk of resurgence” of the group in the Middle East and increased concerns about the ability of its Afghanistan-based affiliate, ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K), to mount attacks outside the country.

European governments viewed ISIS-K as “the greatest external terrorist threat to Europe,” it said.

“In addition to the executed attacks, the number of plots disrupted or being tracked through the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Levant, Asia, Europe, and potentially as far as North America is striking,” the team said.

Jim Jeffrey, former U.S. ambassador to Iraq and Turkey, and Special Envoy to the Global Coalition To Defeat Islamic State, said the group has long sought to motivate lone wolf attacks like the one in New Orleans.

Its threat, however, remains efforts by ISIS-K to launch major mass casualty attacks like those seen in Moscow and Iran, and in Europe in 2015 and 2016, he said.

ISIS also has continued to focus on Africa.

This week, it said 12 Islamic State militants using booby-trapped vehicles attacked a military base on Tuesday in Somalia’s northeastern region of Puntland, killing around 22 soldiers and wounding dozens more.

It called the assault “the blow of the year. A complex attack that is first of its kind.”

Security analysts say Islamic State in Somalia has grown in strength because of an influx of foreign fighters and more revenue from extorting local businesses, becoming the group’s “nerve centre” in Africa.

‘PATH TO RADICALIZATION’

Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old Texas native and U.S. Army veteran who once served in Afghanistan, acted alone in the New Orleans attack, the FBI said on Thursday.

Jabbar appeared to have made recordings in which he condemned music, drugs and alcohol, restrictions that echo Islamic State’s playbook.

Investigators were looking into Jabbar’s “path to radicalization,” uncertain how he transformed from military veteran, real-estate agent and one-time employee of the major tax and consulting firm Deloitte into someone who was “100 percent inspired by ISIS,” an acronym for Islamic State.

U.S. intelligence and homeland security officials in recent months have warned local law enforcement about the potential for foreign extremist groups, such as ISIS, to target large public gatherings, specifically with vehicle-ramming attacks, according to intelligence bulletins reviewed by Reuters.

U.S. Central Command said in a public statement in June that Islamic State was attempting to “reconstitute following several years of decreased capability.”

CENTCOM said it based its assessment on Islamic State claims of mounting 153 attacks in Iraq and Syria in the first half of 2024, a rate which would put the group “on pace to more than double the number of attacks” claimed the year before.

H.A. Hellyer, an expert in Middle East studies and senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, said it was unlikely Islamic State would gain considerable territory again.

He said ISIS and other non-state actors continue to pose a danger, but more due to their ability to unleash “random acts of violence” than by being a territorial entity.

“Not in Syria or Iraq, but there are other places in Africa that a limited amount of territorial control might be possible for a time,” Hellyer said, “but I don’t see that as likely, not as the precursor to a serious comeback.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

President-elect Donald Trump has strongly criticised President Joe Biden’s immigration policies, blaming them for the recent surge in violent crime across the United States. Trump’s concerns were heightened following the deadly attack in New Orleans and the explosion outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.

Trump took to Truth Social to express his discontent, stating that Biden’s “Open Borders Policy” has created an environment where radical terrorism and violent crime are escalating to unprecedented levels. He further attacked Biden’s leadership, calling him the “WORST PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF AMERICA” and a “total disaster.”

“I said, many times during rallies and elsewhere, that Radical Islamic Terrorism, and other forms of violent crime, will become so bad in America that it will become hard to even imagine or believe. That time has come, only worse than ever imagined,” he posted.

The President-elect also accused Biden and his supporters of undermining the country, describing them as “election-interfering thugs” whose actions have caused irreversible damage to the nation. Trump emphasised the urgency of addressing the breakdown of safety, national security, and democracy across the country, demanding that the CIA get involved to prevent further deterioration.

Earlier this week he had also posted on X, “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.”

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…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2025

He even attacked the Department of Justice and FBI accusing them of attacking him, “unlawfully attacking their political opponent, ME”, rather than focussing on American people.

Trump’s criticism comes on the heels of two tragic incidents. In New Orleans, a pickup truck driven by Shamsud-Din Jabbar plowed into a crowd, killing at least 15 people. The FBI is investigating Jabbar’s potential connections to extremist groups. In Las Vegas, an explosion occurred outside the Trump International Hotel, reportedly caused by firework mortars and camp fuel canisters. The suspect, an Army veteran from Colorado, is under investigation.

The Biden Administration’s immigration policies have been under scrutiny, with some arguing that they have led to a surge in illegal immigration and a breakdown in border security. According to a House Oversight Committee hearing, the Biden Administration’s policies have created a crisis at the southern border, with a significant increase in encounters and a lack of effective enforcement.
 

New Delhi:

In the early hours of New Year’s Day, an attack in the US city of New Orleans left at least 15 dead and dozens injured. The suspect, identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old US Army veteran, drove a rented pickup truck into a crowd. Jabbar, who died in a shoot-out with police, was a lone-wolf terrorist who had pledged allegiance to the terror group ISIS in online videos posted just hours before the assault, according to the FBI.

There were five videos posted on Jabbar’s Facebook account. In the first video, Jabbar said he originally planned to harm his family and friends but was concerned that the news headline would not focus on “war between the believers and disbelievers.”

This attack marked the deadliest ISIS-inspired assault on US soil since the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting, which saw 49 people killed.

Lone-Wolf Tactics

The Islamic State has not officially claimed responsibility for the New Orleans attack. Unlike coordinated terrorist cells, lone wolves like Jabbar operate independently, often inspired by extremist propaganda disseminated online. This modus operandi of lone wolves is a challenge to traditional counterterrorism strategies, which rely heavily on infiltrating networks and intercepting communications.

Lone offenders typically employ “easy-access” methods such as vehicle ramming, edged weapons, or firearms to inflict mass casualties. The Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and the National Counterterrorism Center issued a bulletin on December 6, 2024, warning law enforcement agencies about potential lone-wolf attacks during the holiday season. Despite these warnings, the New Orleans tragedy could not be averted.

Online Extremism

Following its territorial defeat in 2019, ISIS has shifted its focus to the digital realm, establishing what counterterrorism experts describe as a “Digital Caliphate.” This online network uses social media, encrypted messaging apps, and dark web platforms to radicalise individuals, share propaganda, and provide tactical guidance for attacks.

Investigators probing the New Orleans attack found videos Jabbar posted online just hours before the assault, pledging loyalty to ISIS and calling for violence. While his radicalisation process remains under investigation, early findings suggest he may have been influenced by online platforms where extremist content flourishes.

Social media companies have made strides in removing extremist content, but the rapid migration of such materials to encrypted platforms poses a challenge.

Domestic Radicalisation

Jabbar was a US Army veteran with no prior known ties to extremist networks. According to authorities, his radicalisation appeared to occur relatively quickly and was likely driven by personal grievances.

This pattern mirrors other recent cases in which individuals have turned to extremist ideologies as a means of finding purpose or expressing anger. Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), the Central Asia-based affiliate of ISIS, has been particularly effective in leveraging online platforms to radicalise individuals.

Thomas Matthew Crooks, the man behind an assassination attempt on US President-elect Donald Trump in July last year, acted as a lone wolf. Crooks was not part of any terror group, neither were the police able to establish any connection between him and extremist ideologies.

Experts have warned that the psychological profiles of lone-actor terrorists often reveal a combination of personal instability and ideological alignment with extremist causes.

Washington:

US President Joe Biden on Thursday informed that the New Orleans attacker had a remote detonator in his vehicle to set off Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) that he planted in the ice coolers in the French Quarter before ramming his car into the crown on Bourbon street.

The FBI has recovered the two IEDs that the attacker, Shamsud Din Jabbar, placed in the coolers, CNN reported.

“They’ve established that the attacker is the same person who planted the explosives in those ice coolers in two nearby locations in the French Quarter just a few hours before he rammed into the crowd with his vehicle. They assessed he had a remote detonator in his vehicle to set off those two ice chests,” Biden said.

Biden has also told reporters gathered in the White House’s East Room that he’ll try to travel to New Orleans, CNN reported.

Meanwhile, the US President informed that 15 people, including the attacker, have been killed in the New Orleans attack on New Year’s night.

FBI has established that the attacker, who carried out this “act of terrorism,” was an ISIS supporter. An ISIS flag was found in his vehicle and the suspect had admitted his support in a series of videos he posted online.

Biden reassured that the US will relentlessly pursue ISIS and other terrorist organisation. “We are going to relentlessly pursue ISIS and other terrorist organisations where they are and they will find no safe husher here,” Biden said.

Moreover, speaking about the possible connection between the New Orleans attack and the Las Vegas Cybertruck explosion, Biden said that the investigation is still going on, however, no evidence of such a connection has been found thus far.

A Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas killing one person and injuring seven others. The vehicles used in both incidents were rented from a car rental site, ‘Turo’, prompting authorities to look for links between the two events, CNN reported.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

Following the terrorist attack in New Orleans where an ISIS supporter rammed a car into a crowd during New Year’s celebrations, President Joe Biden on Thursday (local time) reassured that US will relentlessly pursue ISIS and other terrorist organisation.

“We are going to relentlessly pursue ISIS and other terrorist organisations where they are and they will find no safe harbor here,” Biden said.

Biden informed that 15 people, including the attacker, had been killed in the attack. He then assured that no one else was involved in the attack.

“The number of people killed in New Orleans has risen to 15, including the attacker, 35 people were injured. Today the FBI briefed me that as of now, we have no information that anyone else is involved in the attack. They’ve established that the attacker was the same person who planted the explosives in those ice coolers in two nearby locations in the French Quarter just a few hours before he rammed into the crowd with his vehicle,” Biden said.

Biden further reiterated that the attacker Shamsud Din Jabbar from whom vehicle an ISIS flag was found, has indicated his support for the terrorist organisations in the videos he made.

“As I said yesterday, the attacker posted several videos just several hours before the attack indicating his strong support for ISIS. Federal law enforcement and the intelligence community are actively investigating any foreign or domestic contacts and connections that could possibly be relevant to the attack,”

Moreover, speaking about the possible connection between the New Orleans attack and the Las Vegas Cybertruck explosion, Biden said that the investigation is still going on, however, no evidence of such a connection has been found thus far.

A Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas killing one person and injuring seven others. The vehicles used in both incidents were rented from a car rental site, ‘Turo’, prompting authorities to look for links between the two events, CNN reported.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Orleans, United States:

The celebratory atmosphere of Bourbon Street in New Orleans, long an American byword for indulgence and revelry, was dimmed Wednesday as residents and visitors alike reeled from a deadly truck attack on New Year’s crowds. Several square blocks of the main entertainment district were blocked off after the attack, in which authorities said a US military veteran plowed a pickup truck into pedestrians, killing at least 15 people and leaving a tear in the heart of the city known as the Big Easy. 

“We’re all numb,” Ken Williams, a Creole chef who grew up in New Orleans and moonlights as a candy seller in the city’s usually raucous French Quarter, told AFP. 

“Everybody is feeling shocked about what happened,” the 65-year-old added. “Some people are going to just try and drink it off — shake the fright off, you know?”

Williams said he was fortunate to have headed home about 1:30 am Wednesday, some 90 minutes before the carnage began.

Dwayne Perkins, 22, made the decision to stay out late, and said he saw the truck take off down Bourbon Street at high speed, leaving a trail of destruction. 

“If the cops were doing their jobs last night, this would have never happened,” said Perkins, who lives in New Orleans. 

He admonished the police force for allowing a private vehicle to enter a street that is for pedestrians only during times of celebration.

His coping mechanism in the aftermath? “Getting drunk and drowning out the pain” of the tragedy he witnessed.

The French Quarter normally teems with celebrants seeking live music and exploring art galleries. It is also ground zero for the city’s debaucherous nightlife and has become a world-renowned hub for rambunctious partying.

New Year’s Eve was particularly busy, as celebrating crowds were boosted by sports fans ahead of the Sugar Bowl college football game which had been due to kick off Wednesday night in the stadium known as the Superdome. 

Also Read | “Horrified”: World Leaders React To New Orleans Attack That Killed 15

Lives ‘at stake’

Tens of thousands of fans of the University of Notre Dame and the University of Georgia had converged on the city, packing the French Quarter streets and bars ahead of the playoff — which now has been postponed to Thursday night. 

Sugar Bowl ticketholder Jill Davenport of Richmond, Virginia told AFP she and her family, fresh from watching New Year fireworks, had mulled a walk into the French Quarter to see live music.

“Frankly, better heads prevailed at 1:00 in the morning” and they went back to the hotel. “We’re very fortunate we made that decision,” she said.

“It feels like we have these tragedies more and more frequently, and it’s scary,” she said. 

Davenport, 55, grieved for the relatives of those killed, but she also expressed concern for the bars and other businesses that rely heavily on tourism.

“It has a lot of economic effect on this city… For these restaurants and bars to all of a sudden shut down, that could be make-or-break for them.”

Still, bars outside the roped off blocks where the FBI was conducting its investigation were drawing customers. Football fans strolled the streets. An accordion player’s zydeco music livened up a nearby alleyway.

One street musician who asked not to be named said business had plummeted.

“We should be making money” at this time of year, he said. Instead, crowds have thinned.

Now he worries for his city, where he could never imagine anything like this deadly attack, “not in a million years.”

Williams, the chef, said New Orleans “is going to have to change” by dramatically boosting its security operations to accommodate the hosting of major events including Mardi Gras celebrations, Jazz Fest and, on February 9, the American football Super Bowl championship.

“Too many people’s lives are at stake,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Orleans, United States:

The New Orleans attack suspect, identified by the FBI as 42-year-old US citizen Shamsud-Din Jabbar, appeared to be a real estate agent from Texas who served for years in the military but experienced financial difficulties and divorce. In a video posted on YouTube four years ago, Jabbar — speaking with a southern US accent — boasted of his skills as a “fierce negotiator” as he advertised his property management services to potential clients.

The Pentagon said Jabbar had served in the army as a human resource specialist and an IT specialist from 2007 to 2015, and then in the army reserve until 2020. 

He deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 until January 2010, an army spokesperson said, adding that he held the rank of Staff Sergeant at the end of his service. Earlier the FBI had said it believed he was honorably discharged.

Criminal records reported by The New York Times show that Jabbar had two previous charges for minor offenses — one in 2002 for theft and another in 2005 for driving with an invalid license. 

Jabbar was twice-married, according to the newspaper, with his second marriage ending in divorce in 2022, when he detailed experiencing financial problems in an email to his wife’s lawyer.

“I cannot afford the house payment,” he reportedly wrote, adding that his real estate company had lost more than $28,000 in the previous year, and that he had taken on thousands in credit card debt to pay for lawyers.

A man named Abdur Jabbar, in Beaumont, Texas, told The New York Times he was the suspect’s brother and described him as “a sweetheart really, a nice guy, a friend, really smart, caring.”

He said the suspect had converted to Islam at a young age, but that “what he did does not represent Islam. This is more some type of radicalization, not religion.”

President Joe Biden told reporters that, hours before the attack, Jabbar shared videos online that indicated he was “inspired by ISIS,” citing information from detectives and using another name for the Islamic State armed group.

A black flag linked to the group was also found in the vehicle used in the attack, the FBI said. 

Georgia State University confirmed to AFP that a person named Shamsud-Din Jabbar attended the university from 2015-2017, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in computer systems. 

In his YouTube video — seen by AFP but later removed by moderators — Jabbar spoke highly about his time serving in the US military.

He said that with this experience, he “learned the meaning of great service and what it means to be responsive and take everything seriously, dotting I’s and crossing T’s to make sure that things go off without a hitch.”

At least 15 people were killed and dozens wounded when Jabbar allegedly drove a truck at high speed into a crowd of New Year’s revelers in New Orleans.

Authorities said he crashed the vehicle, then opened fire and was killed in a shootout with police.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Orleans:

Senior US law enforcement officials on Wednesday (local time) identified the main suspect in the New Orleans car-ramming incident as 42-year-old Shamsud Din Jabbar and confirmed that he was carrying an ISIS flag while carrying out the ‘act of terrorism.’

Police also discovered multiple suspected explosive devices in the car used in the attack on Bourbon Street, CNN reported. Jabbar was shot and killed by officers at the scene, as confirmed by New Orleans police.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified Shamsud Din Jabbar as a US citizen from Texas. Officials also stated that he had previously served in the US Military, according to CNN.

The FBI, which is leading the investigation, has classified the incident as “an act of terrorism.”

In a statement on X, the FBI wrote,”This morning, an individual drove a car into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing a number of people and injuring dozens of others. The subject then engaged with local law enforcement and is now deceased. The FBI is the lead investigative agency, and we are working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism.”

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden, in a statement released by the White House, has condemned the attack saying, “There is no justification for violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation’s communities.”

President Biden said that he is being continually briefed since early morning by the American federal law enforcement leadership and the homeland security team, which includes the Secretary of Homeland Security Ali Mayorkas, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, White House Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall, and the Mayor of New Orleans regarding the horrific incident that occurred.

He added, “I will continue to receive updates throughout the day, and I will have more to say as we have further information to share. In the meantime, my heart goes out to the victims and their families who were simply trying to celebrate the holiday.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)