The man accused of the attack that left 14 dead on a busy street in New Orleans (United States) on New Year’s Day had previously visited the city on apparent reconnaissance missions and He recorded the place using glasses equipped with a cameraas revealed this Sunday by the FBI. The man also traveled to Egypt and Canada in the previous two years, although the purpose of those trips remains unclear.
Shamsud Din Jabbar, US Army veteran, arrived for the first time at the end of October to New Orleansin the state of Louisiana, from his home in Texas, as reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
On that first visit, according to a video published by the agency, Jabbar took a slow bike ride through the iconic French Quarter while recording the scene with his smart glasses from the Meta company, Facebook’s parent company. According to FBI Special Agent Lyonel Myrthil, these devices allow users to take photos or recordings without using their hands.
The recording shows Jabbar at one point studying your reflection in a full-length mirrorpossibly testing the device. The man returned to town on Nov. 10, according to the FBI.
Jabbar I was wearing my glasses -without activating them- before dawn on January 1, the day he carried out his attack in the heart of the iconic nightlife district, according to Myrthil. Police believe he drove a rented van at high speed through a barrier and down busy Bourbon Street, killing 14 people and wounding at least 30, before dying in a shootout with officers.
Foreign trips
Jabbar, a U.S. citizen who had declared his allegiance to the Islamic State group on social media, also traveled abroad twice in the past two years, according to the FBI. For 11 days in the summer of 2023, he visited Cairo and a week later he traveled to Ontario for three days. The FBI is trying to find anyone who may have met him on those trips.
During the investigation, as detailed by the agency, two firearms have been recovered: a 9 mm pistol and a .308 caliber semi-automatic rifle. Likewise, it has highlighted that, if the New Orleans Police had not responded as quickly as they did , Jabbar could have detonated two homemade bombs that he left in his wake.
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