Police investigate the cause of the vehicle rampage in New Orleans

Investigators in New Orleans were trying to figure out what drove a U.S. Army veteran who was flying an ISIS flag from his vehicle to crash into a group of people celebrating the New Year, killing 15 and wounding 30 before he was shot and killed by police on Thursday.

The main focus of the investigation was whether the suspect, 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a Texas native and former Afghan soldier, had assistance in organizing the deadly assault on the city that would host the NFL Super Bowl next month.

A Tesla Cybertruck exploded in flames outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday, just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House on January 20. FBI officials said they were also searching for any connections between the deadly attack and that incident.

The New Orleans incident, which occurred in the famous French Quarter just three hours into the New Year, injured roughly thirty other individuals, including two police officers who were shot by the culprit.

Among the fatalities were an 18-year-old Mississippian aspiring nurse, a New York financial employee and successful student-athlete who was spending the holidays at home, and the mother of a 4-year-old who had recently moved into a new apartment after receiving a promotion at work.

The scene was described by witnesses as frightening.

“There were people everywhere,” Mobile, Alabama resident Kimberly Strickland stated during an interview. “You just heard this squeal and the rev of the engine and this huge loud impact and then the people screaming and debris – just metal – the sound of crunching metal and bodies.”

On New Year’s Day, a guy in New Orleans crashed his pickup truck into a crowd, killing over a dozen people.

Authorities promised to keep looking for any indication that Jabbar had collaborators in the meanwhile.

A traditional New Year’s Day event, the Sugar Bowl, a traditional college football game, was moved to Thursday afternoon. The Notre Dame vs. Georgia game was postponed for about twenty-four hours as police searched the city for potential explosives and gathered in neighborhoods to gather information.

On February 9, the city will also host the NFL Super Bowl.

According to the FBI, two possible explosive devices were discovered in the French Quarter and made safe, while police discovered guns and a possible explosive device in the car.

FLAG OF ISIS

An inquiry into potential ties to terrorist groups was launched after an ISIS flag was fastened to a staff member sticking out of the rental car’s trailer hitch, according to the FBI.

In addition to denouncing what he described as a “despicable” crime, U.S. President Joe Biden said officials were investigating the possibility of a connection to a Tesla truck fire outside a Trump property in Las Vegas. According to the president and FBI, there is currently no evidence that connects the two incidents.

According to public records, Jabbar was a Houston real estate agent. Jabbar stated in a promotional video that was uploaded four years ago that he was born and reared in Beaumont, which is located roughly 80 miles (130 km) east of Houston.

According to an Army official, Jabbar served in the regular Army from March 2007 to January 2015 before joining the Army Reserve in January 2015 and remaining there until July 2020. After serving in Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010, he was promoted to staff sergeant.

The suspect taped tapes in which he acknowledged having nightmares about joining ISIS and once considering killing his family following a divorce, according to CNN, which cited sources informed on the inquiry.

ISIS, also known as Islamic State or ISIL, is a Muslim extremist organization that terrorized millions of people in Syria and Iraq before collapsing after a protracted military effort led by a coalition led by the United States.

Experts claim that despite its decline in the battlefield, ISIS has persisted in recruiting supporters online.

Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick declared, “This is evil, not just an act of terrorism.”