FBI: New Orleans Driver Didn't Act Alone

An FBI official said Wednesday afternoon that investigators do not believe that the man who drove into a New Orleans crowd was "solely responsible" for the crime. The coroner's office reported that the death toll in the attack has reached at least 15, per CNN. Officials said three men and a woman seen on video are no longer suspected of planting explosive devices in the French Quarter, but officials are looking for accomplices. The Sugar Bowl, which officials had said would still be played Wednesday evening at the nearby Superdome, instead has been postponed a day. Federal, state, and local officials held a news conference in which they addressed the attack and the investigation. Developments include:

• The suspect: Shamsud Din Jabbar, 42, who was shot and killed by police, was an Army veteran living in Texas. He was on active duty from 2007 to 2015, then was in the Army Reserve until July 2020. After being a human resources specialist and an information technology specialist, Jabbar left the service as a staff sergeant, the Army said.
• ISIS: An Islamic State flag was in the rental truck used, and the government said the attack is being investigated as an act of terrorism. In 2014, an ISIS spokesman urged its followers to attack a "disbelieving American, Frenchman or any of their allies," saying to "run him over with your car."
• Possible accomplices: A Louisiana State Police bulletin had said a video shows three men and a woman placing an improvised explosive device in the French Quarter, per the AP. Investigators later said that was not the case. "We are aggressively running down every lead, including those of his known associates," an FBI official said. Two explosive devices that were found in the area have been disarmed, police said.
• Barricades malfunctioned: City officials said the mechanical barricades around Bourbon Street were not working Wednesday; they were to be replaced with removable stainless-steel ones in time for the Super Bowl, which New Orleans is hosting in February, per the New York Times. In some places, police cars and other objects had been placed on Bourbon Street. The driver went around them. "We knew these were malfunctioning," Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said. "So we did indeed have a plan, but the terrorist defeated it."
• The injured: At least 35 people were hospitalized after being hurt in the attack, including two officers. There was no word on the condition of the people in the crowd; Kirkpatrick said the officers who were shot "will be OK."
• The vehicle: The pickup that was driven into the crowd had been rented through Turo, which calls itself a "peer-to-peer car rental marketplace," per CNN. The vehicles aren't owned by Turo, which takes a commission when a renter selects a car from an owner. Renters don't have to have personal car insurance. They do need to be 18 and have a driver's license, which the app validates.

• President Biden responds: "I've contacted every agency in the federal government, as well as the state. They're all coordinating to get to the bare facts," Biden said in Delaware, per ABC News. He said there's "no justification" for the "horrific attack."
• President-elect Trump responds: "The Trump Administration will fully support the City of New Orleans as they investigate and recover from this act of pure evil," the president-elect posted on Truth Social. He referred to "the criminals coming in" to the US before officials identified the suspect as a citizen.
• The Sugar Bowl: The College Football Playoff quarterfinal will be held Thursday, CEO Jeff Hundley said. Georgia and Notre Dame were to play at the 70,000-seat Superdome on Wednesday evening. Kickoff was scheduled for 3pm Central time on Thursday, per the AP.

(More Bourbon Street attack stories.)