New Delhi: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) declared on Thursday that it now believes the suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, acted alone in the New Orleans attack that claimed the lives of 14 persons.
“We do not assess anyone else was involved in New Orleans truck attack,” Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counterterrorism division, pointed out during a press meet. Shamsud-Din Jabbar was solely responsible for the attack and professed allegiance to the Islamic State, he said. Previously, the FBI had said it did not believe Jabbar acted alone. Raia said that after carrying out hundreds of interviews, scanning through Jabbar’s social media and his electronic devices, there was nothing to suggest that he worked in collaboration with others.
The FBI also said that it has not found any connection between the truck attack and Las Vegas blast outside of Trump International Hotel. Raia said the FBI officials are tracking “all potential leads” but they have found “there’s no definitive link” between the two attacks at this juncture.
Authorities are also carrying out a search at a property in Mandeville, Louisiana, “for potential evidence”. Three phones linked to Jabbar have been recovered, along with two laptops found at the Mandeville address. All these items are currently being reviewed.
‘He was 100% inspired by ISIS’
The law enforcement will try to trace the suspect’s “path to radicalisation” in the coming days. “He was 100% inspired by ISIS,” Raia said, and the FBI is working with its partners to find out more about that.
On Thursday, New Orleans authorities moved forward with plans to reopen Bourbon Street, while investigators continued to look into the background of the US Army veteran who drove a pickup truck into New Year’s revelers, causing 15 deaths. The probe revealed firearms and what appeared to be improvised explosive devices, both in the vehicle and throughout the French Quarter.
The attack turned the festivities on Bourbon Street into grim tragedy, with chaos all around, and people scurrying for cover and seeking protection in nearby establishments.
