By Brian Thevenot, Reuters
FBI investigators arrive at the scene where the white Ford F-150 pickup truck that crashed into a work lift after allegedly driving into a crowd of New Year's revellers in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Photo: MATTHEW HINTON/AFP
- Truck hit people celebrating New Year's Day in French Quarter
- Police search for accomplices, explosive devices in New Orleans
- FBI investigates possible ISIS links, finds ISIS flag on vehicle
- Suspect identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, US Army veteran from Texas
A US Army veteran with an ISIS flag on his truck swerved around makeshift barriers and plowed into New Orleans' crowded French Quarter on New Year's Day, killing 15 people, and police were searching for others who may have been involved in placing explosive devices in the area.
Some 35 people were injured in the attack at 3.15am local time (10.15pm NZT) near the intersection of Canal and Bourbon Streets, a historic tourist destination known for its music and bars where crowds were celebrating the new year. After ramming the crowd with his pickup truck, the driver was shot dead in a gunfight with police, officials said.
Police identified the suspect as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a US citizen from Texas. Officials said the death toll could rise as some of those injured were in critical condition.
Surveillance video captured three men and a woman placing an improvised explosive device in the French Quarter, the Associated Press reported, citing a Louisiana State Police intelligence bulletin.
That same bulletin said the devices were concealed within coolers and wired for remote detonation, and that a remote control was found in the suspect vehicle, the AP reported.
The Sugar Bowl, a classic college football game played in New Orleans each year on New Year's Day, was postponed for 24 hours until Thursday night as police swept parts of the city looking for possible explosive devices and converged on neighborhoods in search of clues. The city will also be the site of the NFL Super Bowl on 9 February.
'Range of suspects'
An ISIS flag was found on the rented vehicle, prompting an investigation into possible links to terrorist organisations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.
"We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible. We are aggressively running down every lead, including those of his known associates," FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan told reporters.
Public records show Jabbar worked in real estate in Houston. In a promotional video posted four years ago, Jabbar describes himself as born and raised in Beaumont, a city about 130 km east of Houston, who spent 10 years in the US military as a human resources and IT specialist.
Jabbar said the military was where he learned the importance of great service and to take matters seriously.
"So I've taken those skills and applied them to my career as a real estate agent, where I feel like what really sets me apart from other agents is my ability to be able to one be a fierce negotiator," he said in the video.
Duncan of the FBI said she believed he was honourably discharged from the US Army, which did not immediately respond to a Reuters request to confirm his service record.
Asked how many potential accomplices the FBI was looking into, she said it was a "range of suspects" and urged anyone who had contact with Jabbar in the previous 72 hours to contact authorities.
Investigators found weapons and a potential explosive device in the vehicle, and two other potential explosive devices were found in the French Quarter and rendered safe, the FBI said.
'Screaming and debris'
Mike and Kimberly Strickland of Mobile, Alabama, said they were in New Orleans for a bluegrass concert and heading back to their hotel just 20 meters from where the truck made impact with some pedestrians.
"There were people everywhere," Kimberly Strickland said in an interview. "You just heard this squeal and the rev of the engine and this huge loud impact and then the people screaming and debris - just metal - the sound of crunching metal and bodies."
About 400 officers were on duty in the French Quarter at the time of the incident, including a number of officers who had established a makeshift barrier to prevent anyone from driving into the pedestrian zone, police said.
"This is not just an act of terrorism, this is evil," Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick told reporters. She said two police officers were wounded by gunfire and in stable condition.
In response to vehicle attacks on pedestrian malls around the world, New Orleans was in the process of removing and replacing the steel barriers known as bollards that restrict vehicle traffic in the Bourbon Street area.
Construction began in November and was due to be completed in time for the Super Bowl, officials said. In the meantime, police vehicles and officers attempted to provide a barrier, Kirkpatrick said.
"This particular terrorist drove around, onto the sidewalk and got around the hard target," Kirkpatrick said.
While mass shootings are more commonly a threat in the United States, vehicle rammings have been used to kill civilians in the US and around the world.
Last month in Germany, a 50-year-old man was charged with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder after police said he plowed a car through crowds at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, killing five people and injuring scores.
- Reuters
