The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Thursday said it now believes the suspect Shamsud-Din Jabbar acted alone in the New Orleans attack that claimed 14 lives.
“We do not assess anyone else was involved in New Orleans truck attack,” Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counterterrorism division, said in a press briefing.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar was solely responsible for the attack and professed allegiance to the Islamic State, he said.
The FBI had previously said it did not believe Jabbar acted alone.
Raia said that after conducting hundreds of interviews, combing through Jabbar’s social media and his electronic devices there was nothing to indicate he worked with others.
The agency also mentioned that it has not found any link between the truck attack and Las Vegas blast.
Raia said the FBI officials are following “all potential leads” but at this point “there’s no definitive link” between the two attacks.
Authorities are also searching a property in Mandeville, Louisiana “for potential evidence”.
Three phones connected to Jabbar have also been recovered. Two laptops were also found at the Mandeville address. They are all being reviewed at the moment.
In the coming days the priority for law enforcement will be to figure out the suspect’s “path to radicalisation”.
“He was 100% inspired by ISIS,” Raia said, and the FBI is working with its partners to ascertain more about that.
New Orleans authorities proceeded with their plans to reopen Bourbon Street on Thursday whilst investigators continued their inquiry into the background of the US Army veteran who crashed a pickup truck into New Year’s celebrants, resulting in 15 fatalities.
The investigation uncovered firearms and what appeared to be improvised explosive devices both in the vehicle and throughout the French Quarter.
The attack transformed the festive atmosphere of Bourbon Street into a scene of tragedy, with injured victims, casualties, and people seeking refuge in nearby establishments. Beyond the fatalities, the incident left dozens wounded.
