Explosives Unearthed Following Deadly New Year's Day Attack In New Orleans: Report

As the new year dawned, a horrifying incident unfolded in New Orleans’ French Quarter. A pickup truck, driven with malicious intent, plowed through a crowd, leaving at least 15 dead and around 30 injured. The driver, later killed in a police shootout, is suspected to have had accomplices.

What Happened: The incident occurred on Bourbon Street, a hotspot for New Year’s Eve festivities. The College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl, which was scheduled for the same day, was postponed until Thursday afternoon in the wake of the attack, reported Associated Press.

Authorities reportedly unearthed potential explosive devices in the French Quarter. Surveillance footage showed four individuals — three men and a woman — placing one of multiple improvised explosive devices, as per a Louisiana State Police intelligence bulletin.

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The driver, identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, was a U.S. citizen, Army veteran, and Texas resident. An Islamic State group flag was discovered on the vehicle’s trailer hitch. The FBI is probing Jabbar’s potential links to terrorist organizations.

Weapons and pipe bombs, hidden within coolers and rigged for remote detonation, were found in the suspect’s vehicle. The crowd, ringing in 2025, also included fans awaiting the Sugar Bowl college football playoff game.

Why It Matters: New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick described the suspect as “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did.” The FBI is investigating the incident as a potential act of terrorism, with the area being searched for potential explosive devices.

In a separate incident, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that an explosion involving a Cybertruck at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas was caused by “very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck.”

Photo Courtesy: RebeccaDLev On Shutterstock.com

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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Shivdeep Dhaliwal