Federal investigators have reason to believe that Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old US Army veteran from Texas, carried out an attack in the French Quarter of New Orleans by driving a truck into a crowd of New Year’s Eve celebrants. The investigators suspect that he prepared the IED explosives used in the incident at a rental property nearby.
The suspect, a US citizen, traveled from Houston to Louisiana with the intention of executing the deadly assault. Tragically, the attack resulted in the loss of 15 lives and caused injuries to at least 35 people in the area.
Investigators are probing the theory he rented a nearby property on Airbnb in St. Roch for his base before carrying out the attack.
Photographs obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com capture the moment when the FBI confiscated materials for making bombs from a rental property consisting of two bedrooms and two bathrooms, located in close proximity to the French Quarter.
A total containment vessel was seen being taken away from the property at around 8pm on New Years Day, hours after authorities had evacuated residents from the area.
The area is mostly rentals available to tourists travelling to the area for the holiday period, who have now been left without a place to stay.
Authorities told one couple ‘not to count’ on being allowed back into the properties, blocking off a three-street radius.
The FBI were joined by special agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Homeland Security.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a US citizen born and raised in Texas drove an electric vehicle into a crowd of revelers in New Orleans’ French Quarter
Investigators are probing the theory he rented a nearby property on Airbnb in St. Roch for his base before carrying out the attack
A total containment vessel was seen being taken away from the property at around 8pm on New Years Day, hours after authorities had evacuated residents from the area
A spokeswoman for the ATF confirmed that they were involved in assisting the investigation, but were unable to comment further when contacted by DailyMail.com.
Officials were called to the property after firefighters put out a fire at the rental in the early hours, with sources claiming ‘bomb making materials’ were found.
State Attorney General Liz Murrill told NBC News: ‘We know that these individuals had rented the house were using it for that purpose.’
The two-bed two-bathroom property was revamped by real estate developer Oliver Doxater at Wysteria Properties.
Sources believe that Jabbar could have rented the property out on Airbnb or another rental service before the deadly attack.
Authorities told one couple ‘not to count’ on being allowed back into the properties, blocking off a three-street radiusÂ
New Orleans Police pull a bomb containment vessel from the property
Jabbar was killed by police after he slammed a truck into pedestrians celebrating the New Year, exited the vehicle, and started firing.
The vehicle, which was hired by Jabbar on car-rental app Turo, was reportedly carrying an ISIS flag and a chest with explosives inside it.
Suspect Jabbar is said to have made a series of videos that is being reviewed by law enforcement.
Multiple officials told CNN that the recordings appear to have been made while driving at night and the suspect is not visible in them.
Authorities believe that the videos were made as he drove from Texas to Louisiana, although the timing is unclear.
The driver who plowed into pedestrians celebrating the New Year in New Orleans killing at least 10 people and injuring dozens is dead following a shootout with police
Suspect Jabbar is said to have made a series of videos that is being reviewed by law enforcement.
CNN report that the recordings make reference to his divorce and that he planned on gathering his family together for a fake celebration so he could kill them.
The suspect is also said to have talked about how he joined ISIS, and spoke of dreams that he had about joining the terrorist group.
His brother told The New York Times that his brother was a caring man. Abdur Jabbar, 24, of Beaumont, Texas, told the outlet: ‘[He was] a sweetheart really, a nice guy, a friend, really smart, caring.’
He said that his brother had converted to Islam at a young age, and that ‘what he did does not represent Islam. This is more some type of radicalization, not religion’.Â
Hours after the New Orleans terror attack a Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside the front doors of Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.Â
Elon Musk said Wednesday’s Cybertruck explosion was ‘likely an act of terrorism,’ occurring just hours after a terror attack in New Orleans which left 15 people dead.
A Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas
An image from outside the hotel shows smoke billowing from the vehicle
An image taken after the blast shows the wreckage inside the Cybertruck
According to Fox5, several agencies are now investigating whether there is a link between the two attacks.
The $80,000 car – made by Musk’s company – was seen in a fiery blaze outside the front revolving doors of the hotel, killing one and injuring seven at around 9am, according to Las Vegas police.
By Wednesday afternoon, Musk revealed the explosion was caused by ‘a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck’ or ‘very large fireworks.’
He said the explosion was not caused by or related to the vehicle itself, and it’s understood the unnamed driver had rented the truck using Turo.
‘Law enforcement currently believes it was most likely intentional,’ he added.
‘Both this Cybertruck and the F-150 suicide bomb in New Orleans were rented from Turo. Perhaps they are linked in some way.’
CNN later reported fireworks, gas tanks and camping fuel were in the bed of the car, and were likely connected to a detonation system controlled by the driver.
An insider told the network authorities have obtained CCTV footage which shows the Cybertruck passed by the hotel an hour earlier, and circled back to park seconds before the explosion.
Musk said ‘Tesla vehicles transmit their state of health continuously,’ meaning his team were able to check whether anything was wrong with the car’s mechanics prior to the explosion.
Sheriff Kevin McMahill had earlier revealed police are treating the explosion as an act of terror.
