New Orleans terror attack latest: FBI looking into suspect’s travels to Egypt as British man among 14 killed

The FBI says it has received almost 1,000 tips in 48 hours, as it continues to investigate the tragic incident in New Orleans on New Year’s Day, which left 14 people dead and dozens wounded.

“Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) personnel from across the country continue to work diligently to further this investigation and evaluate evidence, interview victims and witnesses, and analyze tips related to the New Orleans Bourbon Street attack,” the bureau said in a statement on Friday.

“Two days into the investigation, the FBI has received almost 1,000 tips, and leads have been sent to FBI Field Offices across the country for investigation.”

Matthew Livelsberger, the Green Beret who died in the Las Vegas Cybertruck explosion, left behind a note describing the incident as a “stunt” to serve as a “wake up call” for the country.

The shocking incident occurred just hours after the deadly terror attack in New Orleans in the early hours of New year’s Day. However, on Friday, investigators ruled out a connection between the two incidents.

Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. Army veteran, has been named by authorities as the suspect. He carried an ISIS flag on the vehicle used to mow down pedestrians.

Addressing the nation following the attack, President Joe Biden said Jabbar posted videos to social media “indicating he was inspired by ISIS, expressing a desire to kill.”

But how much of a threat does the extremist Islamist militant group pose to Americans today?

Authorities removed the remaining bodies and swept blood from the sidewalks and streets beginning at 2 a.m. Thursday. Deliveries to the street’s bars and restaurants resumed a few hours later.

Several blocks of Bourbon and surrounding streets had been blocked off, businesses were closed and residents living in the footprint of an active crime scene were navigating police tape and barricades after a driver plowed a pickup truck into a crowd shortly after 3 a.m. Wednesday.

Thousands of workers — still checking on the safety of friends and colleagues — are now returning to the bars, restaurants, music venues, hotels, gift shops and other businesses that keep the city’s tourism economy running.

U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies are reportedly concerned about copycat vehicle-ramming attacks following the attack in New Orleans.

The FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center “are concerned about possible copycat or retaliatory attacks,” according to a bulletin seen by Reuters.

Such attacks “are likely to remain attractive for aspiring assailants given vehicles’ ease of acquisition and the low skill threshold necessary to conduct an attack”, the bulletin said.

The bulletin was issued a day after the FBI said the attacker Shamsud-Din JabbarJabbar was “100 percent inspired” by ISIS. 14 innocent people were killed in the attack and dozens more were injured.

A British man has been confirmed as one of those killed in a deadly New Year’s Day vehicle attack in New Orleans.

Metropolitan Police confirmed they were supporting the family of Edward Pettifer, 31, of Chelsea, who was killed in the attack in Bourbon Street.

Authorities have confirmed at least 14 people died and least 39 others were injured when a man in a pick-up truck plowed through crowds before he was gunned down by police.

Pettifer’s family said in a statement: “The entire family are devastated at the tragic news of Ed‘s death in New Orleans. He was a wonderful son, brother, grandson, nephew and a friend to so many.

New Orleans officials are promising the city is safe as they prepare for today’s Sugar Bowl and the Super Bowl next month. But planning for those events might have allowed a suspected terrorist to rampage through the city’s most popular area.

Those “bollards” — installed as part of a years-long security plan for the tourist-heavy neighborhood — were intended to block that exact type of attack from happening.

But they were in the middle of being replaced in time for the city to host February’s Super Bowl LIX, which falls in the middle of a busy Carnival season calendar leading up to Mardi Gras day on March 4.

The FBI is investigating the travel history of Shamsud-Din Jabbar, including his month-long solo trip to Egypt in 2023, ABC News reported.

As part of its investigation, the federal agency is trying to determine what he did in the country, who he interacted with and whether he became radicalized during his trip or prior to it, the outlet reported.

Authorities recovered an ISIS flag from inside his vehicle.

“This next most important phase of the investigation is to find out how that radicalization happened and if it happened on that trip,” Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams told the network.

The FBI said it expects the number of people reported injured in the New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans to continue to rise in the coming days, as investigations continue into the tragic event.

“As of January 3, the FBI has identified 35 known injured individuals,” the bureau said in a statement on Friday. “The number of injured is expected to rise in the coming days as additional people either take themselves to hospitals with injuries or ask for assistance from the FBI.”