NEW ORLEANS — The man responsible for the truck attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day that killed 14 people visited the city twice before and recorded video of the French Quarter with hands-free glasses, an FBI official said Sunday.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Houston, carried out the attack early Wednesday. Police fatally shot Jabbar, 42, during a firefight at the scene of the deadly crash on Bourbon Street, famous worldwide for its festive vibes in New Orleans’ historic French Quarter.
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Jabbar had traveled to New Orleans ahead of the attack in on October 31 and November 10. Lyonel Myrthil, FBI special agent in charge of the New Orleans Field Office, said video shows the suspect riding through the French Quarter on a bicycle wearing “meta glasses” that are capable of recording or livestreaming.
The video recorded on those glasses was released Sunday afternoon. It showed streets in the French Quarter, including Bourbon Street, from the point of view of Jabbar riding a bicycle. Jabbar is seen traveling multiple streets, looking left and right.
Another clip from the smart glasses appears to show Jabbar inside a home. He looks in the mirror at himself. He is wearing a t-shirt that reads, “It all starts with VMware vSphere,” a cloud computing service.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar also traveled to Cairo, Egypt, as well as Ontario, Canada, before the attack, although it was not yet clear whether those trips were connected to the attack, Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia said at a press conference.
Myrthil said the suspect in the attack traveled to Cairo in the summer of 2023 and then to Canada a few days later.
“Our agents are getting answers to where he went, who he met with and how those trips may or may not tie into his actions here,” Myrthil said.
Joshua Jackson, New Orleans special agent in charge, said Jabbar privately purchased a semiautomatic rifle from an individual in Arlington, Texas, on Nov. 19
“This was a chance encounter,” Jackson said. “There’s no way this individual knew that Jabbar was radicalized or had any sort of awareness that this attack was imminent.”
Bourbon Street Attack Timeline
The FBI gave a detailed timeline of Jabbar’s movements as he plotted his New Year’s Day attack.
December 31
2:30 p.m. – Jabbar enters Louisiana.
9 p.m. – Jabbar seen in Gonzalez, Louisiana.
10 p.m. – Jabbar seen unloading the truck at a home he had rented in New Orleans.
January 1
12:41 a.m. – Jabbar parked the truck and walked to Royal and Governor Nichols Street.
1:53 a.m. – Jabbar placed the first IED in the cooler at Bourbon and Saint Peter Street.
2:20 a.m. – Jabbar placed the 2nd IED in a bucket-type cooler on Bourbon and Toulouse Streets.
3:15 a.m. – Jabbar used his pickup truck as a lethal weapon, leaving 14 dead. He crashed into construction equipment and had a gunfight with police. Police killed Jabbar.
5 a.m. – Fire reported at the home Jabbar had rented in New Orleans.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.