Police walk back their previous New Orleans attack hypothesis about additional suspects

Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, shot and killed by New Orleans police after a New Year’s Eve truck-ramming attack, acted alone, according to investigators. This news comes after authorities said they believe Jabbar had accomplices.

In the immediate aftermath of the New Orleans violence, investigators found explosives in coolers in the city’s Bourbon Street area, leading authorities to believe someone else was involved. Christopher Raia of the FBI’s counterterrorism division said Thursday surveillance footage showed Jabbar placed the devices there himself. “We’re confident, at this point, that there are no accomplices,” Raia said at a news conference.

The FBI said they were still investigating individuals Jabbar may have messaged or who may have messaged him online before he drove the truck into crowds of New Year’s Eve revelers, but there was no evidence so far to suggest Jabbar had any help planning or carrying out the shocking incident.

“While we have interviewed many people who know Jabbar, we still need to talk to others,” the FBI’s Christopher Raia said. “Whether you know Jabbar personally, worked with him, served in the military, or saw him in New Orleans or Texas, we need to talk to you,” Raia added.

The NOLA attack

Around 3:15 a.m. Wed. On Jan 1 in New Orleans, Jabbar, from Texas, drove a rented white pickup truck into the crowded Bourbon Street area before exiting the vehicle. He then engaged in a firefight with police, who shot and killed the 42-year-old army veteran. At least 15 people were killed, including Jabbar, and dozens were injured in what authorities have declared a terrorist attack.

Authorities say Jabbar’s truck was loaded with additional firearms and explosives and that there was an ISIS flag on the outside of the vehicle. Jabbar had recently converted to Islam, and posted online videos declaring his support and announcing he had joined ISIS, sometimes called the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, a Salafi-jihadist group responsible for terrorist attacks worldwide.

Potential Vegas connection

Also on New Year’s Day, Matthew Alan Livelsberger, an active-duty member of the U.S. Army’s elite special forces unit from Colorado Springs, CO., parked a Tesla truck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, loaded with fuel and gas canisters and firework mortars.

The Tesla exploded, killing Livelsberger. Seven others were injured, but they were expected to recover, NBC News reported. Livelsberger’s motive has not yet been determined. Authorities have declared that Livelsberger blew up the Tesla intentionally.

In the initial investigation, authorities said there was no indication that Livelsberger was formally affiliated with ISIS or connected to Jabbar, but could not rule anything out.

The FBI has said Livelsberger and Jabbar rented their vehicles from Turo, an online car rental app. Both men served at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, but Livelsberger and Jabbar were not at the base simultaneously. According to Forbes, neither man had any previous criminal record, which may have flagged them as a security risk, a Turo spokesperson said.

Authorities cleared Bourbon Street after Jabbar’s truck attack. The Sugar Bowl, scheduled for Wednesday, New Year’s Day, was rescheduled to Thursday at the Super Dome, near Bourbon Street, part of the college football playoffs.

“I want to reassure the public that the city of New Orleans is not only ready for game day today, but we’re ready to continue to host large-scale events in our city,” New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said Thursday. “Our hearts and prayers continue to go out to the victims’ families,” LaToya added.