At around 3:15 am on January 1, tourists were continuing their New Year’s Eve celebration in New Orleans when Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove into a crowd, killing 14 and injuring at least 57 others. Jabbar was a Texas citizen living in Houston, where he rented the Ford pickup truck that he used to commit the attack. The FBI has confirmed that the ex-army veteran had supported the terrorist group ISIS after discovering videos of support Jabbar made hours before the attack and an ISIS flag in his truck. The FBI also discovered Jabbar made a trip to New Orleans on November 10 and planned to rent an apartment on Bourbon Street. After Jabbar plowed into the crowd on Bourbon Street he then began firing at the police, resulting in a shootout and Jabbar’s death. During the FBI’s investigation, they discovered explosives in the truck, IEDs planted around the French Quarter and bomb-making materials at Jabbar’s house in Houston. It is assumed that Jabbar planned to use a remote switch, known as a hobby switch, to denote the IEDs but failed to do so either because of his death or a mechanical problem. Jabbar’s search history later revealed that he had googled the attack in Germany where a car rammed into a Christmas market about a week before the attack in New Orleans.
Shortly after Shamsud-Din Jabbar was identified to be the man responsible for the terrorist attack, his ties to the Atlanta community were uncovered. He attended Georgia State University from 2015 until 2017 during which he lived in Georgia. Dekalb County court records also show that Jabbar was married from 2013 to 2016, during which he lived in Clarkston. Jabbar was also a landlord for a property in Marietta until he sold the property.
Just hours after the New Orleans attack at around 8:30 am, an explosion across the country caused people to fear the possibility of a coordinated terrorist attack. On the morning of January 1st, a Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside of Trump Tower in Las Vegas, Nevada. The explosion left one dead and 7 with minor injuries. The deceased, Army Green Beret Master Sgt. Matthew Livelsberger died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound prior to the explosion. Firework mortars and gasoline cans were found in the back of the cybertruck, as well as other explosive devices. After further investigation, authorities discovered Livelsberger used Chatgpt to help and plan the attack, asking it questions about whether fireworks were legal in Arizona and other specific information about explosive targets. Livelsberger left notes claiming that the attack was not intended to kill anyone but himself and served as a wake-up call for America. His friends and family have noted that he suffered brain damage while overseas and voiced concerns about events that occurred while he was on duty. Investigators have confirmed that Livelsberger acted alone and even left notes claiming he was worried this would be viewed as an act of terrorism.
Similarities have been raised between Livelsberger and Jabbar. Not only did the attacks occur mere hours within each other but both men served in the US Army. The two men were based at Fort Bragg in North Carolina and served in Afghanistan in 2009, but it’s unknown whether they ever crossed paths. They also both used the app Turo, a car-renting service that acts similarly to Air BnB. While there are many similarities between the two incidents, authorities have said that each man acted alone, ruling out any possibility of a coordinated terrorist attack.
Credit: FMT
First responders cover-up scene outside of Las Vegas