The FBI, the American federal police, confirmed on Thursday (2) that the attack with a pickup truck in New Orleans was orchestrated alone by driver Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, 42 years old, in an “act of terrorism”. on New Year’s Eve and was subsequently killed by police.
According to US President Joe Biden, the driver had posted videos on social media hours before the attack saying he was inspired by the Islamic State, expressing a desire to kill civilians. Hours earlier, he had placed two homemade bombs on the streets of the French Quarter, the bohemian area of the city, where the attack took place.
“We obtained images from surveillance cameras in which Jabbar is seen placing the artifacts at the location where they were found, on Bourbon Street and another neighboring street,” said agent Christopher Raia, at a press conference. An IS flag, weapons and “improvised explosives” were found in the car.
Tesla
Initially, there was a suspicion that the New Orleans attack hours later: a Tesla electric car exploded in front of a hotel owned by Donald Trump, president-elect of the USA, who will take office on the 20th. The driver, Matthew Livelsberger, a decorated military, died. He and Jabbar would have served, at a certain period, at the same base in Fort Liberty, South Carolina – the Army later denied the information. Furthermore, both cars had been rented through the same app, Turo, which increased suspicions.
Investigation
The hypothesis, however, was discarded. Livelsberger was from Colorado. Jabbar lived in Texas. After firefighters put out the fire, investigators found gasoline, camping gas canisters and a large quantity of fireworks in the back of the car.
Elon Musk, president of Tesla, said that “the explosion was caused by fireworks or a bomb carried in the car, but it ensured that the vehicle worked properly.
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Kevin McMahill, sheriff of the Las Vegas Police Department, revealed that, shortly before the Tesla explosion, Livelsberger died from a gunshot to the head, which investigators believe he gave himself. The soldier had two unregistered firearms in his car. The body was burned beyond recognition, according to authorities.
The sheriff said Musk helped the investigation by unlocking the car’s data and providing investigators with video of the driver at charging stations along his 8,000-mile route from Colorado Springs to Las Vegas.
political praise
Despite not linking one case to another, McMahill said that the explosion in Las Vegas needs to be investigated in depth, mainly due to political issues that hang over the incident. “It’s a Tesla car. And we know that Elon Musk works with President-elect Trump. And it’s Trump Tower. So obviously there are things we should be concerned about,” he said.
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Plans to kill family and join ISIS
In videos recorded by Shamsud Jabbar, driver of the New Orleans attack, he talks about plans to kill his family and dreams that led him to join the Islamic State in mid-2024. Jabbar says he changed his mind because he wanted the message focused on the war between believers and infidels, according to the videos.
