New Orleans ‘terrorist’ pictured an hour before attack along with bomb-filled cooler

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President Joe Biden on Thursday said ‘I’m going to try’ to visit the New Orleans attack site.

Biden has just over two weeks remaining in the White House, with Inauguration Day quickly approaching on January 20.

Some of the 46th president’s final agenda items include honoring the late President Jimmy Carter next week and meeting Pope Francis and government officials in Italy.

Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, 42, has been pictured an hour before he allegedly drove onto Bourbon Street in New Orleans and killed at least 14 people.

Two images from CCTV footage released by the FBI show Jabbar donning a brown overcoat and jeans and a dark shirt just minutes after 2am while walking on Dauphine Street, which is one block away from Bourbon.

Federal officials also unveiled photos of a cooler with IEDs that Jabbar allegedly put near Bourbon and Orleans Street. Only the exterior of the cooler was shown, and it sat on a sidewalk with the handle extended.

The FBI is seeking more information on the attack.

Jabbar placed two ‘functional’ improvised explosive devices near the site where he rammed into people, the FBI and two senior law enforcement officials told NBC News.

The bombs were constructed of galvanized pipe that included end caps and were inside two coolers, according to authorities.

It was not immediately known if Jabbar attempted to set off the bombs.

They had receivers used for remote detonation and had receivers.

A fire has been reported near the site of the massacre in New Orleans as Bourbon Street reopened.

Footage shared on social media shows plumes of smoke rising into the sky from a building in the French Quarter.

The cause of the incident remains unclear.

Live music is back at Bourbon Street after it reopened a little more than 24 hours after a truck slammed into a crowd of revellers, killing 14 of them.

A brass band played a block from the makeshift memorial, where people had left flowers and candles for the victims.

New Orleans mayor LaToya Cantrell led a crowd for a ‘peace walk’ as they all danced and sang.

Since the attack, the surrounding streets had been blocked off and businesses were shut while the bodied were removed from the scene.

Ohio residents Jeffrey and Briana Tolle, both in their 50s, strolled down Bourbon Street for their very first time shortly after it reopened, with Mardi Gras beads around their necks and beverages in hand.

They had spent the morning enjoying beignets and were determined to enjoy their trip.

‘We’re like, well we’re going, we’re not stopping,’ Jeffrey said. ‘They ain’t gonna kill our good time.’

In the meantime, football fans geared up for the Sugar Bowl, which was postponed yesterday.

Shamsud-Din Jabbar was armed with a remote detonator wired to set off bombs in the area near the massacre in New Orleans.

President Joe Biden made the announcement from the White House, stressing that authorities do not believe there was a link between the crash in the French Quarter and the explosion outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas.

He said that Jabbar was ‘inspired by ISIS’ and had a ‘desire to kill,’ adding: ‘I know while this person committed a terrible assault on the city, the spirit of our New Orleans will never, never, never be defeated.’

Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s younger brother has spoken out about the massacre in New Orleans, saying it ‘doesn’t feel real’ that his sibling could have done this.

‘I never would have thought it’d be him. It’s completely unlike him,’ said Abdur-Rahim Jabbar.

He said that his brother had been isolated in the last few years, but that he had also been in touch with him and he did not see any signs of radicalisation.

‘It’s completely contradictory to who he was and how his family and his friends know him,’ he added.

The names of the 14 people killed in the New Orleans massacre have not been released by officials yet, but their families and friends have started sharing their stories. 

So far, at least eight people have been named on social media, with a number of tributes released.

Coroner Dr. Dwight McKenna said in a statement late Wednesday that they will release the names of the dead once autopsies are complete and they’ve talked with the next of kin. About 30 people were injured.

Metro has been updating the list of those killed in the crash.

Almost $80,000 have been raised for one of the injured in the crash in New Orleans.

Ryan Quigley was celebrating New Year’s with his friend Tiger Bech when the pickup truck mowed them down in the French Quarter.

Tiger was pronounced dead at the scene, but Ryan was rushed to hospital.

A fundraiser has been set up to support Tiger’s family and also Ryan with medical bills while he is undergoing treatment.

His family confirmed he is on the ‘road to recovery,’ adding: ‘Ryan is a fighter, and his loved ones are rallying around him as he faces this challenge.

‘In the same spirit, we want to honor Tiger’s memory by easing the burden on his family.’

Donald Trump has taken a swipe at Joe Biden’s ‘open border policy’ in the aftermath of the attack in New Orleans.

The Republican has continued to try to tie the crash to undocumented immigrants, even though the suspect behind it was born in the US and was an Army veteran, who had served in Afghanistan.

Writing on his website, Truth Social, Trump said: ‘With the Biden “Open Border’s Policy” I said, many times during Rallies, and elsewhere, that Radical Islamic Terrorism, and other forms of violent crime, will become so bad in America that it will become hard to even imagine or believe.

‘That time has come, only worse than ever imagined.’

One of the 14 victims of the New Orleans terror crash has been named as Drew Dauphin, an Auburn University graduate.

In a statement,  the university’s president, Christopher B. Roberts, said: ‘On behalf of Auburn University, I send my sincere condolences to the family and loves ones of 2023 graduate Drew Dauphin, who was taken from us in the New Orleans terror attack.

‘Words cannot convey the sorrow the Auburn Family feels for Drew’s family and friends during this unimaginably difficult time.

‘Our thoughts are with the Dauphin family and the families of all the victims of this senseless tragedy.’

According to his LinkedIn profile, Drew graduated in 2023 and was a supplier process engineer who had worked for American Honda Motor Company Inc. since his graduation.

The FBI and New Orleans police shared the latest details on the investigation into the terror attack hours after New Year’s Eve.

Here are the key developments:

• Shamsud-Din Jabbar was a lone wolf
• The public are not at any further risk and the FBI are not searching for any other suspects
• The US citizen posted several pro-ISIS videos on Facebook in the hours before the deadly crash
• The FBI also confirmed the number of victims as 14
• There is ‘no definitive link’ between the rampage and a Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas

Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the suspected terrorist in the New Orleans attack, joined ISIS months before ramming a truck into a crowd of revellers celebrating New Year’s Eve.

The US Army veteran, who was born in Texas, posted five videos on his Facebook account just hours before the crash in which he aligned himself with the militant group and said he had joined them last summer.

Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counter-terrorism division, told a press conference that Jabbar was initially planning to harm his family and friends.

But the 42-year-old was concerned the news headlines would not focus on the ‘war between the believers and disbelievers’.

There is no ‘definitive link’ between the attack in New Orleans, which saw 15 people killed, and the explosion outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas, the FBI believes.

Both incidents happened just hours apart, sending shivers down the spine of Americans, leading many to think that coordinated attacks are taking place.

But Christopher Raia, the deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counterterrorism division, said that at this point they are not connected.

Shamsud-Din Jabbar slammed into a crowd in the French Quarter, killing 14 and injuring dozens more, in what the FBI called an act of terrorism.

In a news conference, authorities outlined the suspect’s movements in the hours before the crash.

December 30 – Jabbar picks up the rented truck in Houston, Texas

December 31 – He then drove from Houston to New Orleans on the evening

December 31 – Throughout the evening, he postes several videos online, proclaiming his support for ISIS and talking about a war between ‘believers and disbelievers’

More than 24 hours after Jabbar rammed his truck into a crowd of revellers on New Year’s Eve, the FBI has confirmed he was working alone.

Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counter-terrorism division, told a news conference that the agency is not hunting for any other suspects.

He said the agency are currently reviewing two laptops found from Jabbar’s home during a search, three mobile phones, as well as two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) recovered from the scene.

The public are not in danger in New Orleans, Raia added.

Matthew Alan Livelsberger, who was earlier named as the person who died in a Cybertruck explosion outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas, was an active US solider who was on leave at the time of the incident.

He was an active-duty US Army soldier serving in Germany, who was on ‘approved leave at the time of his death,’ it has been reported.

Two relatives of Livelsberger confirmed to CBS that he had rented the Cybertruck but were unaware of him having any involvement in the blast.

One relative said his wife had not heard from him in several days.

As we reported earlier, the FBI said in a post on X that it was ‘conducting law enforcement activity’ at a home in Colorado Springs related to the explosion but provided no other details.

Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who previously served in the US Army, including in Afghanistan, was described as a ‘great soldier’ by his former boss.

Rich Groen said he is in ‘utter disbelief’ and is still processing the ‘devastating events’ that unfolded in New Orleans.

He said Jabbar served under his command during their deployment to Afghanistan, saying he showed ‘discipline and dedication’.

‘Jabbar worked quietly and professionally in the S1 shop and as a mail clerk, ensuring the little things that kept us all connected to home were done with care and precision,’ Groen wrote in a post on X.

‘He was a great soldier, someone who showed discipline and dedication.

‘To think that the same individual who once embodied quiet professionalism could harbor so much hate, leading to such unspeakable atrocities, is incomprehensible and heartbreaking.

‘This transformation is a stark reminder of the dangers of unchecked anger, isolation, and hate.’