NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A U.S. Army veteran who rammed a truck into a crowd celebrating New Year’s in the city of New Orleans acted alone, the FBI reported on Thursday, reversing its statement from the previous day that the man had likely worked with others to carry out the deadly attack, which authorities are calling an act of terrorism inspired by the Islamic State group.
PUBLICIDAD
The FBI also revealed that the driver, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen originally from Texas, posted five videos on his Facebook account in the hours leading up to the attack in which he aligned himself with the Islamic State group and told viewers that he had joined the militant group before last summer.
PUBLICIDAD
"This was an act of terrorism. It was premeditated and an evil act," said Christopher Raia, deputy director of the FBI's counterterrorism division.
Why did the FBI change its original version of the attack in New Orleans?
The attack left 14 people dead, including an 18-year-old girl who wanted to be a nurse. Initially, authorities had said that the death toll was 15 people, which included Jabbar, who was fatally shot in a confrontation with the police.
Officials had said on Wednesday that they were looking for additional potential suspects in the attack, which occurred when Jabbar drove around a police blockade and rammed into people with his truck.
But Raia said that the current assessment is that he acted alone, without any conspirators.
Authorities recovered a black flag of the Islamic State in the van, and U.S. President Joe Biden said the FBI informed him that Jabbar had posted videos on social media hours before the massacre indicating he was motivated by the militant group and expressing his desire to kill.
The researchers found weapons and what appeared to be an improvised explosive device in the vehicle, along with other explosive devices in other locations in the French Quarter of the city.