Warning: This video contains scenes which some viewers may find distressing.
The former US veteran, who served in Afghanistan, is believed to have had an ISIS flag located in the truck which he rented – while the FBI is investigating the attack as an ‘act of terrorism’.
The agency does not believe the 42-year-old acted alone, adding that he may not be ‘solely responsible’.
The twice-married Jabbar was killed during a gun fight with authorities.
The FBI released a statement yesterday (January 1), which read in part: “Today, at approximately 3:15 a.m. CST, an individual drove a pickup truck into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing at least 10 and injuring dozens of others.
“After hitting the crowd, he exited the vehicle and fired upon local law enforcement. Law enforcement returned fire, and the subject was pronounced deceased at the scene. Two law enforcement officers were injured and transported to a local hospital.
“The subject has been identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Texas. He was driving a Ford pickup truck, which appears to have been rented, and we are working to confirm how the subject came into possession of the vehicle.”
People are being advised to stay away from the area (CBS News)
It continued: “An ISIS flag was located in the vehicle, and the FBI is working to determine the subject’s potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations.
“Weapons and a potential IED were located in the subject’s vehicle. Other potential IEDs were also located in the French Quarter.
“The FBI’s special agent bomb technicians are working with our law enforcement partners to determine if any of these devices are viable, and they will work to render those devices safe.
“The FBI is the lead investigative agency, and we are working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism. We are aggressively running down all leads to identify any possible associates of the subject.”
Meanwhile, New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick explained that Jabbar managed to access the sidewalk by driving around barricades and police vehicles.
“We had a car there, we had barriers there, we had officers there, and he still got around,” Kirkpatrick said, per CBS News.
A statement from President Joe Biden, in part, said: “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.
Featured Image Credit: FBI/WBIR Channel 10/YouTube
Topics: Terrorism, US News
Chilling footage shows the moment a teenager had a very near miss with a would-be kidnapper.
Many of us might imagine how we would react in a scenario where someone comes after us, but there’s no way to know for sure unless you’re actually exposed to that.
Fortunately for one 15-year-old girl, when the worst happened and a man attempted to snatch her off the street her quick reaction saved her.
Police reports indicate that the would-be kidnapper approached the girl near to Figueroa Street Elementary School in Los Angeles at around 3.30pm on July 16.
After approaching her, the man appeared to put his hand around her neck in an apparent attempt to kidnap her.
Fortunately, the girl thought very quickly and managed to escape her attacker.
She did this by appearing to whack the man with her phone, which distracted the man enough for her to break free and run away.
Police have since confirmed that the suspect fled the scene with the gun.
The girl was saved by her quick thinking. (KABC)
The Los Angles Police Department added that they are treating the incident as an attempted kidnapping, and have not made any arrests related to it at present.
Neither the teenager nor her mom have bee publicly identified in the wake of the incident.
Another woman who escaped a kidnapper aged just 15 was Kara Robinson Chamberlain.
Kara told how when she was just 15 she was kidnapped by serial killer Richard Evonitz who pulled a gun on her and forced her to get into a storage bin he carried in the back of his car.
While being driven, Kara recalled how she had been able to note the number of the turns that Evonitz had taken as well as the music he was listening to and the cigarettes he was smoking.
Police said they have not made any arrests related to the case. (KABC)
Once back at his apartment, Evonitz assaulted Kara for 18 hours.
But despite the horrifying situation, Kara was able to calmly gather information while in the apartment and her calming behaviour may well have been a crucial factor in saving her life as it helped her to gain the trust of her attacker.
Kara was able to escape after 18 hours of captivity, making her getaway while Evonitz was sleeping.
She approached a car and asked to be taken to the police station, and from there she was able to guide officers back to the apartment.
After a police pursuit, Evonitz was caught when his car ran over road spikes and he took his own life before being arrested
