Death toll in New Orleans crash rises to 15; FBI believes suspect did not act alone

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UPDATE | Jan. 1, 2025, 4:40 p.m. CST |

New Orleans — A 37-year-old father of two from Baton Rouge was among the 15 people killed in the terrorist attack in New Orleans on New Year's Day that also injured 30 others, officials said. 

Reggie Hunter had just left work and was headed with a cousin to celebrate New Year’s when the attack happened, his first cousin Shirell Jackson told Nola.com.

Hunter was killed and his cousin was injured, Jackson said.

Officials have not yet released the names of the victims, but their families and friends are talking about them.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has mobilized a military police company from the Louisiana National Guard in the aftermath of the attack.

The force, which will include 100 personnel, will assist local law enforcement, state police and the FBI, he said. Landry said he also issued an emergency declaration to free up necessary resources to respond to the attack.

"This is not just an act of terrorism, this is evil," New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick told reporters during a Wednesday afternoon press conference. 

Louisiana's Attorney General, Liz Murrill echoed that sentiment, saying, "This was a heinous, cowardly act. We will find them. We will provide the governor with whatever support he needs. We will bring them to justice!”

The driver of the white pickup truck that plowed into victims, later identified by the FBI as Shamsud Din Jabbar, 42, was from Texas. Jabbar was a U.S. citizen and an Army veteran, according to the FBI. He was killed in a firefight with police following the attack around 3:15 a.m. Wednesday along Bourbon Street in the city’s bustling French Quarter, the FBI said. Two officers were shot but are in stable condition.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. shared support for those officers, and for victims, stating, "I wish I understood better why bad things happen to good people. I told the Secretary of Homeland Security that we expect the full force of the federal government behind this investigation. They need to catch these people and then tell the American people the truth. I will promise you this... when it is appropriate and this investigation is complete, you will find out who is responsible, or I will raise hell!"

An ISIS flag was located inside Jabbar's pickup, and the FBI is working to determine his potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations. The FBI said additional weapons and a potential IED were also found in the truck. And other potential IEDs were also found in the French Quarter. The FBI’s special agent bomb technicians are working with law enforcement partners to determine if any of those devices were viable. 

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The morning after the incident, Landry weighed in on X, saying, "This is a fluid situation and we are in coordination with numerous local and federal law enforcement agencies to ensure a complete and thorough investigation to bring those who may have been part of this incident to justice. We recognize that there are tourists around us, and we urge all to avoid the French Quarter as this is an active investigation. We understand the concerns of the community and want to reassure everyone that the safety of the French Quarter and the city of New Orleans remains our top priority."

The area is known as one of the largest New Year’s Eve destinations.

Crowds in the city were ballooning in anticipation of Wednesday night's Sugar Bowl college football playoff game at the nearby Superdome between Georgia and Notre Dame.

By Wednesday afternoon, the Sugar Bowl was officially postponed. 

"The decision to postpone the game wasn’t done lightly. It was done for safety, not only of our citizens, but for our visitors," said Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. (D-LA). 

At a news conference, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell described the killings as a “terrorist attack” and the city’s police chief said the act was clearly intentional.

Kirkpatrick said the suspect was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did.”

“It was very intentional behavior. This man was trying to run over as many people as he could,” she continued.

FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan said officials were investigating the at least one suspected improvised explosive device at the scene.

Kevin Garcia, 22, told CNN that he saw a truck slamming into people on a sidewalk and heard gunshots. “A body came flying at me,” he said. Whit Davis told the network that he heard people yelling and running to the back as he was leaving a nightclub. “When they finally let us out of the club, police waved us where to walk and were telling us to get out of the area fast. I saw a few dead bodies they couldn’t even cover up and tons of people receiving first aid," said Davis, 22.

The injured were taken to five hospitals, the city’s emergency preparedness department said.

The White House said President Joe Biden had been briefed, and the Justice Department said Attorney General Merrick Garland was also briefed.

The attack is the latest example of a vehicle being used as a weapon to carry out mass violence, a trend that has alarmed law enforcement officials and that can be difficult to protect against. A 50-year-old Saudi doctor plowed into a Christmas market teeming with holiday shoppers in the German city of Magdeburg last month, killing four women and a 9-year-old boy. A man who drove his SUV through a Christmas parade in suburban Milwaukee in 2021 is serving a life sentence after a judge rejected arguments from him and his family that mental illness drove him to do it. Six people were killed.

An Islamic extremist was sentenced last year to 10 life sentences for killing eight people with a truck on a bike path in Manhattan on Halloween in 2017. Also in 2017, a self-proclaimed admirer of Adolf Hitler slammed his car into counter protesters at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia and is now serving a life sentence.

The FBI has set up a digital tip line, or you can call 1-800-CALL-FBI. 

Copyright MSM/AP