Perpetrator shot dead by police was a US Army vet who had pledged allegiance to Islamic State
Police cordon off the intersection of Canal and Bourbon streets in New Orleans after a truck ploughed into a crowd of revellers, killing at least 15 people. (Photo: AFP)
NEW ORLEANS – The celebratory atmosphere of Bourbon Street in New Orleans, long an American byword for indulgence and revelry, was dimmed Wednesday as residents and visitors alike reeled from a deadly truck attack on New Year’s crowds.
Several square blocks of the main entertainment district were blocked off after the attack, in which authorities said a US military veteran ploughed a pickup truck into pedestrians, killing at least 15 people and leaving a tear in the heart of the city known as the Big Easy.
Federal investigators are seeking possible connections between terrorist groups and the 42-year-old Texas man, a US Army veteran who died in a shootout with police officers. He was identified by the FBI as Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, a US citizen, according to the New York Times.
The pickup truck carried an Islamic State group flag, weapons and a “potential” improvised explosive, the agency said, adding that other potential bombs were also found in the French Quarter.
Officials with the FBI were still trying to determine a motive for the attack, and believed that Jabbar “was not solely responsible”, the Times reported.
“We’re all numb,” Ken Williams, a Creole chef who grew up in New Orleans and moonlights as a candy seller in the city’s usually raucous French Quarter, told AFP.
“Everybody is feeling shocked about what happened,” the 65-year-old added. “Some people are going to just try and drink it off — shake
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