The driver who massacred pedestrians celebrating the New Year on a New Orleans street and died in a shootout with police has been identified.
Shamsud Din Jabbar, 42, drove a rental truck into the crowd on Bourbon Street, killing at least 10 people and injuring dozens. He was killed by cops after he exited his vehicle and started shooting.
The gunman – who reportedly grew up in Texas and served in the U.S. Army – injured two NOLA police officers during the shootout, who are in stable condition.
The vehicle was rented by the suspect through the Turo app – a carsharing company – that is registered to a 42-year-old Houston man.
The truck came through Eagle Pass, Texas, over a month ago, according to Fox News. It was initially reported that the truck crossed the border two days ago.
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.
Witnesses claim the suspect was ‘wearing full body armor’ and ‘armed with an assault rifle.’
The driver rammed into the large group at high speed, then got out and started firing a weapon, witnesses said.
Investigators later added that they found what appeared to be improvised explosives at the crash site that did not detonate.
The FBI confirmed they are investigating the attack ‘as an act of terrorism,’ the agency said in a statement.
Earlier, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell described the killings as a ‘terrorist attack,’ but FBI special agent Alethea Duncan then said ‘it’s not a terrorist event.’
Investigators recovered a handgun and an AR-style rifle after the shootout, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. Investigators were also combing the French Quarter for potential explosive devices
Following the horrific tragedy, an image of what appears to be a flagpole on the back of the unidentified driver’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 shows 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.
NOLA police superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said the man intentionally drove the truck into the crowd at a high speed to cause chaos.
‘It was very intentional behavior… this man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could,’ she said. ‘He was hellbent on creating the carnage that he did.’
Kirkpatrick noted it was ‘not a DUI situation and is ‘more complex and more serious based on the information we have right now.’
Videos circulating on social media that appear to have been recorded at the scene showed multiple casualties on the ground as shots ring out in the background. People were also seen running from the area.
Dozens of police officers responded to the attack and a portion of the road was cordoned off.
Paramedics and vehicles from the coroner’s office were also seen at the scene. Ambulances transported the wounded to five area hospitals.
