New Orleans attack latest: FBI, DHS warn of copycat danger

(NEW ORLEANS) — The FBI and Department of Homeland Security issued a joint intelligence bulletin warning the nation’s 18,000 law-enforcement agencies about potential copycats seeking to emulate the devastating New Year’s ramming and shooting attack in New Orleans, ABC News has learned.

The bulletin was sent out of an abundance of caution to sensitize law enforcement around the country to be on the lookout for any activity pointing to the use of vehicles as a method to inflict mass casualties, sources told ABC News.

“We advise federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial government and law enforcement officials and private sector security partners to remain vigilant of potential copycat or retaliatory attacks inspired by this attack and other recent, lethal vehicle-ramming incidents across the globe,” the bulletin sent by law enforcement and obtained by ABC News said.

The bulletin notes that ISIS has been promoting the use of vehicles as a terrorism weapon since around 2014.

Sources told ABC News that ISIS has ramped up calls for its supporters to launch low-tech, mass casualty ramming attacks in recent months, especially since the most recent Israel-Hamas conflict began in October 2023.

The New Orleans suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old Army veteran and U.S.-born citizen from Texas, drove from Houston to New Orleans on Tuesday evening and posted several videos online “proclaiming his support for ISIS,” and mentioning he joined ISIS before this summer, FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia said.

“Law enforcement should be aware that in many cases attackers have conducted vehicle-ramming attacks with secondary weapons and may continue the attack with edged weapons, firearms, or IEDs after the vehicle has stopped,” the bulletin said. The tactic could be “attractive” for foreign terrorist organizations and other actors due to its low complexity threshold, the warning said.

The bulletin offered law enforcement agencies tips on danger signs of upcoming attacks to look out for, including the use of pre-operational surveillance, fraudulent identity documents or credit to rent vehicles, online calls for violence or unusually placed items which could conceal a improvised explosive devices.

The bulletin stated that Jabbar was inspired by ISIS but that there remains no evidence of any co-conspirators. A senior law-enforcement official told ABC News that there is so far no sign of ISIS claiming responsibility for the New Orleans attack.

An intelligence bulletin from the New York Police Department obtained by ABC News indicated that ISIS supporters did celebrate the attack online. Violent extremists, the bulletin said, “continue to view densely populated walkways, parades, mass gatherings and other outdoor events along streets, especially during holidays, as vulnerable targets of opportunity.”

“This enduring threat underscores the criticality of pre-staged blocker cars and the deployment of other effectively configured countermeasures including heavy block, barriers and bollards,” it added.

Fourteen people were killed and dozens were injured when Jabbar drove a pickup truck onto a sidewalk and around a parked police car serving as a barricade to plow into pedestrians on Bourbon Street early on New Year’s Day, police said.

The suspect mowed down dozens of people over a three-block stretch, police said.

Jabbar then exited the damaged vehicle armed with an assault rifle and opened fire on police officers, law enforcement said. Officers returned fire, killing Jabbar. At least two officers were injured, authorities said.

Raia called the attack a premeditated “act of terrorism” but said there was no additional threat to the public.

The FBI released new surveillance images of Jabbar in New Orleans a little more than an hour before the attack took place, showing the suspect walking along Dauphine Street near Governor Nicholls Street shortly after 2 a.m., wearing a light brown long coat, jeans and brown dress shoes.

Surveillance footage showed Jabbar placing two improvised explosive devices in coolers in the Bourbon Street area, Raia said. He had a remote detonator in the truck to set off the two devices, President Joe Biden said. Both devices were rendered safe, officials said.

Bomb-making materials have been recovered at Jabbar’s Houston home, sources confirmed to ABC News. The items found were also referred to as “precursor chemicals” by agents in the field, sources said.

The FBI released new surveillance images of Jabbar in New Orleans a little more than an hour before the attack took place, showing the suspect walking along Dauphine Street near Governor Nicholls Street shortly after 2 a.m., wearing a light brown long coat, jeans and brown dress shoes.

Surveillance footage showed Jabbar placing two improvised explosive devices in coolers in the Bourbon Street area, Raia said. He had a remote detonator in the truck to set off the two devices, President Joe Biden said. Both devices were rendered safe, officials said.

Bomb-making materials have been recovered at Jabbar’s Houston home, sources confirmed to ABC News. The items found were also referred to as “precursor chemicals” by agents in the field, sources said.

Law enforcement cleared and reopened Bourbon Street on Thursday as the investigation continued. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said authorities had the “confidence” to reopen the area to the public ahead of the Sugar Bowl Thursday afternoon, which was initially scheduled for Wednesday but postponed in the wake of the attack.

“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,” she said. “Our hearts and prayers continue to go out to the victims’ families,” Cantrell added.

There is no apparent direct connection between the New Orleans attack and Wednesday’s Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas, which is also being investigated as a possible act of terror, Raia from the FBI said Thursday.

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