The attacker wore Meta smart glasses during the rampage, officials said.The suspect in the deadly New Year’s Day truck-ramming attack in New Orleans made two previous trips to the city in October and November, apparently scouting the best location to carry out his rampage, even using a pair of Meta smart glasses to record video of a bicycle ride through the French Quarter, the FBI said.
The suspect — Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, an Army veteran and Houston realtor — was also wearing Meta glasses when he allegedly executed the attack at 3:15 a.m. CT on Jan. 1, but apparently did not record the attack or attempt to livestream it, Lyonel Myrthil, special agent in charge of the bureau’s New Orleans field office, said during a news conference on Sunday.
At least 14 people were killed and dozens were injured in the attack, which occurred over a three-block stretch of Bourbon Street in New Orleans’ bustling French Quarter.
Jabbar, a Texas resident who FBI officials said proclaimed his support for the terror group ISIS in social media posts ahead of the attack, was killed in gunfire exchanged with New Orleans police.
Myrthil said the investigation has uncovered two trips Jabbar made to New Orleans in October and in November. He said Jabbar’s first trip to New Orleans began on Oct. 30, 2024.
MORE: Mayorkas and McCaul warn of ISIS-inspired threats after New Orleans attack
“He was in town for at least two days. During that time, Jabbar, using Meta glasses, recorded a video as he rode through the French Quarter on a bicycle,” Myrthil said. “As we continue to learn more about that trip, we ask anyone who may have seen or interacted with him to contact us.”
Myrthil said Jabbar made another trip to New Orleans on Nov. 10.
“But we are still piecing together details of that trip,” Myrthil said.
This handout images taken from a video released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on January 5, 2025 shows suspect Shamsud-Din Ja…Show more
Handout/FBI/AFP via Getty Images
Joshua Jackson, the special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives field office in New Orleans, said Jabbar was seen late on the night of Dec. 31, unloading the white rental truck used in the attack at an Airbnb rental on Mandeville Street in the St. Roch neighborhood.
The FBI, according to Myrthil, believes Jabbar entered Lousiana at 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 31.Joshua Jackson, the special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives field office in New Orleans, said Jabbar was seen late on the night of Dec. 31, unloading the white rental truck used in the attack at an Airbnb rental on Mandeville Street in the St. Roch neighborhood.
The FBI, according to Myrthil, believes Jabbar entered Lousiana at 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 31.
PHOTO: Shamsud-Din Jabbar
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, has been identified as the suspect in an attack that killed at least 15 people on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on Ne…Show more
FBI
Jackson said that before leaving the home at about 12:15 p.m. on Jan. 1, just three hours before the attack, Jabbar allegedly doused gasoline on a linen closest and throughout the residence and set it on fire, apparently hoping to destroy the property and any evidence left inside.
