At least 10 people were killed and dozens injured after a driver plowed a car into a large crowd on Canal and Bourbon Street in New Orleans at approximately 3:15 a.m. ET on New Year's Day. City officials said over 35 injured people, including a police officer, have been transported by NOEMS to five local hospitals.
Suspect, later identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, drove around barricades and up onto the sidewalk of Bourbon Street, avoiding barriers placed by police, and opened fire on officers after the vehicle came to a stop, leading to an exchange of gunfire that resulted in his death.
Police said the suspect died after he jumped out of his pickup truck and traded gunfire with responding officers. Two police officers were injured and are in stable condition.
According to FBI special agent Alethea Duncan, during a press conference, a black ISIS flag was found flying from the rear bumper of the vehicle, an electric Ford pickup truck that appears to have been rented.
The incident is being treated as a terrorist attack by the authorities, including New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell.
Among those killed were 18-year-old Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux, of Gulfport, Mississippi. She was reportedly supposed to be starting a nursing program at Blue Cliff College in just under two weeks. She had gone to New Orleans with her cousin and friend to ring in the new year.
"I just want to see my baby. She was the sweetest person. She would give you anything, anything." Her mother, Melissa Dedeaux, told the media. Her daughter was the third oldest of six children.
37-year-old Reggie Hunter, a father of two from Baton Rouge, went to Bourbon Street with his cousin. Hunter died after being struck by the truck driven by Jabbar. His cousin was also hit and has suffered extensive internal injuries.
Also killed was 27-year-old Tiger Bech, of Lafayette, who died late Wednesday morning after sustaining catastrophic injuries from being struck by the truck. Kim Broussard, the athletic director at St. Thomas More Catholic High School where Bech had played football, said that Bech graduated from Princeton in 2021 with a finance degree and worked as a trader in a New York brokerage firm. He had been in New Orleans for the holidays. Bech was kept on life support until his family could arrive to the hospital.
The FBI is currently investigating the incident, with Duncan stating that they do not believe Jabbar was solely responsible for the attack.
About 4 people were reportedly seen placing explosives in the truck before the attack.
Investigators are looking into Jabbar’s potential affiliations or associations with terrorist organizations; so far neither ISIS nor any other foreign terror organization has claimed responsibility for the attack.
"We are working to confirm how he came in possession of this vehicle," Duncan said. "An ISIS flag was located on the trailer hitch of the vehicle, and the FBI is working to determine the subject's potential associations and affiliation to the terrorist organization."
"Weapons and potential improvised explosive devices IED were located in the subject's vehicle."
The special agent also noted that the FBI does not believe Din Jabbar was "solely responsible" for the act of terrorism.
"We aggressively running down every lead, including those of his known associates," Duncan added. "That's why we need the public's help."
