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The suspect, who was shot and killed, has been named as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar
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Joe Biden said that the suspect who killed at least 15 people and injured dozens of others after ramming a truck into a crowd of people in New Orleans was inspired by ISIS, and had a “desire to kill.”
In remarks made on Wednesday evening, the president hailed the strength of the city, saying: “I know while this person committed a terrible assault on the city, the spirit of our New Orleans will never, never, never be defeated. It always will shine forth.”
The suspect, who was shot and killed by police, has been named by the FBI as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen and Army veteran who lived in Texas.
The incident took place at 3:15 a.m. on Wednesday on the city’s famed Bourbon Street in the first hours of New Year’s Day, as Jabbar allegedly evaded police barriers around the French Quarter and drove into the crowd.
The suspect acted with “very intentional behavior,” police said. Two officers were struck in a gunfire exchange with the suspect and are now in stable condition.
Officials do not believe Jabbar acted alone and are investigating if he had accomplices.
Wednesday’s Sugar Bowl college football quarter final was postopned following the attack and is now scheduled for Thursday.
In the aftermath of the New Orleans truck attack, state police reportedly investigated a group of four individuals seen on video appearing to place explosive devices.
The video prompted officials to suggest suspect Shamsud-Din Jabbar didn’t act alone.
Those individuals have reportedly been ruled out as suspects, according to NBC News.
Car-sharing company Turo said it was “actively partnering” with authorities after it was revealed that both vehicles used in the New Years Day incidents in New Orleans and Las Vegas were rented through the company.
In a statement , the company said it was “heartbroken” by the violence in both cities. “We do not believe that either renter involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat,” it said.
In New Orleans, a man who rented a truck from Turo intentionally drove it into a crowd, killing 15 perople.
In Las Vegas, a rented Cybertruck parked outside the Trump International Hotel exploded, killing the person inside and injuring seven others.
Officials found two explosive devices on Wednesday in the French Quarter of New Orleans, the site of the truck attack over night.
About 30 minutes after the attack, police found a bomb near a set of squad cars packed with nails and plastic explosives.
A second bomb was found on Bourbon Street, NOLA.com reports.
The Allstate Sugar Bowl college football quarterfinal will be played tomorrow at 3 p.m. Central time, after being postponed from its original Wednesday start time due to the terror attack in New Orleans.
New Orleans terror suspect Shamsud-Din Jabbar was a normal, well-behaved kid, according to childhood friend Chris Pousson.
He said Jabbar “wasn’t a troublemaker at all.”
“He made good grades and was always well-dressed in button-ups and polo shirts,” Pousson told The New York Times.
The pair reconnnected on social media around 2017, by which point Jabbar had embraced a newfound emphasis on faith.
“He was never threatening any violence, but you could see that he had gotten really passionate about his faith.”
A man was reportedly seen surrendering with his hands up to a SWAT team at the Texas home of New Orleans terror suspect Shamsud-Din Jabbar.
News crews witnessed the surrender, as well as at least four children and five adults being brought outside the Harris County property, Click2Houston reports.
Nicole Perez, 27, the mother to a four-year-old, is among the 10 people killed in the New Year’s terror attack in New Orleans.
Perez, a deli manager in the New Orleans area, was out with friends for New Year’s Eve when a truck rammed pedestrians on Bourbon Street. She was taken to the hospital for her injuries and died.
“She was a great mother,” family spokesperson Kimberly Usher-Fall, Perez’s employer, told ABC News. “She just was a really exciting little young lady and she was getting herself together.”
Perez leaves behind a four-year-old son, Melo.
“She was so beautiful and full of life,” Usher-Fall added. “Her son Melo is now without his momma, and we are without our friend and dedicated employee. I’m hoping to get some help for her burial expenses and to help her son with expenses he will need to transition into a new living situation.”
Joe Biden offered his condolences after the New Orleans attack, but had little new factual information about the suspect or nature of the investigation into the attack.
“I grieve with you,” Biden said Wednesday afternoon from Camp David. “Our nation grieves with you. We’re going to stand with you as your mourn and as you heal in the weeks to come.”
The president did offer a few new insights though.
“Mere hours before the attack, he posted videos on social media indicated that he was inspired by ISIS, especially the desire to kill,” Biden said of suspect Shamsud-Din Jabbar.
The president added that officials are scrutinizing any “possible connection” between a Tesla that exploded outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas and the truck attack in Louisiana.
“Thus far there’s nothing to report on that score at this time,” Biden said.
Joe Biden will be speaking any minute from Camp David.
The president is expected to offer his condolences and provide updates on the investigation into the New Orleans terror attack.
Watch his speech here.
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