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New Orleans terrorist suspect set fire at rental property prior to attack: FBI

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New reports indicate New Orleans had security concerns before attack

Fox News senior correspondent Mike Tobin has the latest on new reports that suggest New Orleans officials were warned about security threats on ‘Special Report.’

The driver behind the deadly terrorist New Years’ attack in New Orleans set fire to his rental property in an effort to destroy bomb-making evidence prior to the attack, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms (ATF) said.

In a joint statement on Friday, the agencies revealed that they believe 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar set a small fire in the hallway of his rented Airbnb before the attack, and “strategically placed accelerants throughout the house in his effort to destroy it and other evidence of his crime.” But they said the fire burned itself out before spreading to other rooms.

The smoldering of the fire allowed the FBI to recover evidence from the rented Airbnb, including “pre-cursors for bomb-making material and a privately made device suspected of being a silencer for a rifle,” the agencies said.

LAS VEGAS, NEW ORLEANS ATTACKS NOT CONNECTED: POLICE

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    Investigators search the rental home used by Shamsud-Din Jabbar in New Orleans, Louisiana on Thursday, January 2, 2024. Multiple people are dead and dozens are injured after Jabbar rammed his car into crowds of New Year’s Eve revelers on Bourbon Street on Wednesday. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)

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    Investigators search the rental home used by Shamsud-Din Jabbar in New Orleans, Louisiana on Thursday, January 2, 2024. Multiple people are dead and dozens are injured after Jabbar rammed his car into crowds of New Year’s Eve revelers on Bourbon Street on Wednesday. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)

  • Image 3 of 5 prev next

    Investigators search the rental home used by Shamsud-Din Jabbar in New Orleans, Louisiana on Thursday, January 2, 2024. Multiple people are dead and dozens are injured after Jabbar rammed his car into crowds of New Year’s Eve revelers on Bourbon Street on Wednesday. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)

  • Image 4 of 5 prev next

    Investigators search the rental home used by Shamsud-Din Jabbar in New Orleans, Louisiana on Thursday, January 2, 2024. Multiple people are dead and dozens are injured after Jabbar rammed his car into crowds of New Year’s Eve revelers on Bourbon Street on Wednesday. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)

  • Image 5 of 5 prev

    Investigators search the rental home used by Shamsud-Din Jabbar in New Orleans, Louisiana on Thursday, January 2, 2024. Multiple people are dead and dozens are injured after Jabbar rammed his car into crowds of New Year’s Eve revelers on Bourbon Street on Wednesday. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)

The FBI and the ATF also revealed new information on Jabbar’s movements prior to driving a high-speed vehicle down the popular Bourbon Street in the early hours of New Year’s Day.

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT VICTIMS OF NEW ORLEANS TERRORIST ATTACK

Jabbar had also placed two improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, along Bourbon Street, authorities said. He did not manage to detonate the two explosives prior to his death.

“The FBI assesses that during his attack on Bourbon Street, Jabbar intended to use a transmitter, that was found in the F150 truck, to detonate the two IED’s he placed on Bourbon Street,” the agencies said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation released photos of surveillance footage that shows Shamsud-Din Jabbar an hour before he drove a truck down Bourbon Street, New Orleans, early Jan. 1, 2025. (Federal Bureau of Investigation via AP)

In the latest update, the agencies said that all evidence recovery along Bourbon Street and at the Airbnb rental on Mandeville Street used by Jabbar has been completed.

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“Evidence collected from multiple sites is being evaluated to further the investigation,” the agencies said.

Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. 

Story tips and ideas can be sent to sarah.rumpf@fox.com and on X: @s_rumpfwhitten.

Related Topics

  • New Orleans
  • Louisiana
  • Terror
  • FBI
  • US Crime
  • Crime
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