The electric vehicle used by the New Orleans terrorist to plow into a crowd of revelers celebrating the New Year on Bourbon Street has sparked a mystery after a hidden object was spotted on the back of the SUV.
Ten people were killed and 35 others injured after the white Ford SUV, driven by Shamsud Din Jabbar, 42, drove into pedestrians ringing in 2025 in New Orleans’ French Quarter Wednesday around 3.15am local time, NOLA.com reported.
Following the horrific tragedy, an image of what appears to be a flagpole on the back of Jabbar’s truck circulated online, sparking mass speculation.
Photos taken after the collision show what appears to be a metallic gray jacket wrapped around a flagpole, but a video shot earlier in the morning showed what appears to be a black flag dangling from the same ‘pole’.
It is unclear if it was placed there before or after the heinous attack.
The truck used to kill 10 in the massacre came into the US from Mexico through Eagle Pass, Texas, over a month ago, Fox News reported. It was earlier misreported as two days ago by the outlet.
The vehicle was rented from Turo – a car sharing app. Another 42-year-old man who listed it lives in Houston and ‘has already been contacted by federal investigators,’ ABC 13 reported.
The FBI has formally confirmed they are investigating the tragedy ‘as an act of terrorism’ after New Orleans mayor LaToya Cantrell said she had spoken to the White House about what she described as a ‘terrorist attack’.
Louisiana Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser told WDBU officials are probing if the attack was connected to ISIS and if the flag displayed on the back of the truck was connected to the group.
Jabbar was killed in a shootout with officers after he exited his vehicle and started shooting, injuring two NOLA police officers who are in stable condition.
Authorities investigating the ‘mass casualty incident’ say the driver showed ‘very intentional behavior’ after driving into crowds before he got out and fired a weapon.
Officials said an improvised explosive device was found in the area. Around 8.30am a ‘small explosion’ went off in the quarter. It was detonated by the bomb squad, WLWT’s Steven Albritton reported.
Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said the suspect was ‘hellbent on creating carnage.’ No information about his identity has been released. Federal agents will now lead the investigation into the attack.
Witnesses claim Jabbar was ‘wearing full body armor’ and ‘armed with an assault rifle’, and officials said he was ‘trying to run over as many people as he possibly could’.
President-elect Donald Trump took to Truth Social Wednesday morning stating that ‘The Trump Administration will fully support the City of New Orleans.’
‘When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats and the Fake News Media, but it turned out to be true,’ he wrote.
‘The crime rate in our country is at a level that nobody has ever seen before. Our hearts are with all of the innocent victims and their loved ones, including the brave officers of the New Orleans Police Department.
‘The Trump Administration will fully support the City of New Orleans as they investigate and recover from this act of pure evil!’
President Joe Biden also shared a statement, saying that he has told his team ‘to ensure every resource is available’ to New Orleans, and that ‘there is no justification for violence of any kind.’
‘I have been continually briefed since early this morning by federal law enforcement leadership and my homeland security team, including 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 there overnight.
‘The FBI is taking the lead in the investigation and is investigating this incident as an act of terrorism. I am grateful for the brave and swift response of local law enforcement in preventing even greater death and injury.
‘I have directed my team to ensure every resource is available as federal, state, and local law enforcement work assiduously to get to the bottom of what happened as quickly as possible and to ensure that there is no remaining threat of any kind.
‘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.
‘There is no justification for violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation’s communities,’ Biden said.
Videos circulating on social media showed a chaotic scene at the tourist hotspot as people ran from the casualty-strewn area while bullets rang out in the background.
Dozens of police officers have responded to what authorities have declared a ‘mass casualty event’ and a portion of the road has been cordoned off. Paramedics, ambulances and vehicles from the coroner’s office were also seen at the scene.
Ambulances have transported the wounded to five area hospitals, the city added, and the FBI have taken over the ongoing investigation.
A man, who claimed to witness the incident while out with his wife, wrote on X that he saw the SUV ‘speeding’ down the road and ‘running people over’.
Another alleged witness told WLWT that she saw the vehicle strike the crowd and multiple officers open fire at the suspect. She says she started running and only escaped ‘by the grace of god’.
Kevin Garcia, 22, said the car was ‘slamming into everyone on the left side of Bourbon sidewalk’. He heard gunshots ring out and claims a ‘body came flying at me’, CNN reported.
Whit Davis, a 22-year-old witness from Shreveport, Louisiana, said he was in a nightclub when the attack unfolded. He recalled how people ‘started running and hiding under tables’ in a scene that resembled ‘an active shooter drill’.
Police then held him and a group of partygoers in the bar, Davis told BBC, noting that when they were finally allowed to leave the establishment that they ‘were walking past dead and injured bodies all over the street’.
At a press conference, New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell described the incident as a ‘terrorist attack.’ At first, the FBI said that it was not linked to terrorism – before later confirming that the mass fatality indeed is being investigated as such.
Bourbon Street, famous for its many bars and clubs, has reportedly been shut down while investigators work the scene. People are advised to stay away from the area.
‘The 8th District is currently working a mass casualty incident involving a vehicle that drove into a large crowd on Canal and Bourbon Street,’ NOLA Ready, the city’s official disaster preparedness agency, said in a statement.
‘There are 30 injured patients that have been transported by NOEMS (New Orleans Emergency Medical Services) and 10 fatalities. Public safety partners are responding on scene. Updates will follow as they are received.’
The incident came toward the end of New Year’s celebrations in New Orleans and hours before the kickoff of the AllState Bowl, a college football quarter final held in the city’s Caesars Superdome, with thousands expected to be in attendance.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry has condemned the ‘horrific’ attack and said he is ‘praying for all the victims and first responders on scene’.
‘A horrific act of violence took place on Bourbon Street earlier this morning,’ Landry tweeted. ‘Please join Sharon and I in praying for all the victims and first responders on scene. I urge all near the scene to avoid the area.’
