One of the things that people have been writing into Tactical shit about is “How could this have happened?”, in a short answer, complacency and lack of foreplanning. As more comes to light, and CREDIBLE information becomes available relating to Shamsud-din Jabbar we are starting to get a clearer picture of his motives, and how he scouted out the area, MONTHS before this attack. Hindsight is 20/20 and these events are unfortunate capstones in what it truly takes to change policies for better and worse.
As investigators piece together his movements and motivations, it appears Jabbar – whom officials have said acted alone and was radicalized – was preparing the Bourbon Street attack for months. He visited the city multiple times in the months prior. He brought firearms and homemade explosive devices with him. He rented a home on Airbnb and attempted to burn it down in what officials believe was an attempt to hide criminal evidence.
He scouted the city months before the attack
Jabbar visited New Orleans at least twice in the months prior to his attack, in October and November, FBI New Orleans Special Agent in Charge Lyonel Myrthil said at a Sunday news conference. During that trip, to scout the scene, Jabbar used Meta smart glasses, according to the FBI. The smart glasses can take photos and video, and they use artificial intelligence to answer user questions about their surroundings.
He rented an Airbnb, and set fire to it
Jabbar rented an Airbnb in New Orleans’ St. Roch neighborhood about 1.5 miles away from the scene of the Bourbon Street attack, officials have said.
He set fire to the rental about 15 minutes after midnight on New Year’s Day, just before leaving to carry out the attack, officials said.
Officials were able to pinpoint the moment Jabbar set the house fire by using the home’s thermostat, said Joshua Jackson, the special agent in charge of the New Orleans field division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
He used an open flame in the home’s linen closet area next to the washer and dryer, setting half gallons of gasoline in the hallway and pouring accelerant in different rooms throughout the house, according to Jackson.
He constructed IEDs
After Jabbar departed the Airbnb shortly after midnight, he placed two improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, in coolers on Bourbon Street. He placed one in a rolling cooler and the other in a bucket cooler and left them in the street.
Ultimately, neither of them detonated.
Officials believe Jabbar constructed the IEDs using commonly found explosives in the United States, Jackson said. But there was something somewhat “unique” about the IEDs Jabbar constructed – and it speaks to his inexperience, Jackson said.
The materials need a detonator to be set off, but because Jabbar didn’t have access to one, “he used an electric match in its place to try to set off the explosive material,” Jackson said. It didn’t work, and the devices never exploded.
“That is just indicative of his inexperience and lack of understanding how that material might be set off,” Jackson said.
He rented a 6,000-pound truck
The attacker rented an electric Ford F-150 pickup truck in Houston using the private vehicle rental website Turo and picked it up December 30.
FBI officials estimated he entered Louisiana on New Year’s Eve around 2:30 p.m.
The rented vehicle was seen in Gonzalez, Louisiana – about 55 miles northwest of New Orleans – around 9 p.m., Myrthil said.
Shortly after the clock struck midnight, marking the first hours of 2025, Jabbar set fire to the house, drove to the French Quarter, and placed the coolers containing his homemade IEDs on the street.
Around 3:15 a.m., he drove up Canal Street, took a sharp right onto Bourbon Street, and rammed the 6,000-pound truck into a crowd celebrating the new year. Fourteen people were killed and dozens were injured.
Motives
FBI said they believe the New Orleans attacker, 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was “100% inspired by ISIS” and that in the coming days they will dig deeper into his “path to radicalization.”
More on the suspect: In a series of videos, the suspect in the deadly New Year’s attack in New Orleans discussed planning to kill his family and having dreams that helped inspire him to join ISIS, according to multiple officials briefed on the investigation.