FBI briefs House Homeland Security Committee on New Orleans truck attack
Washington — The FBI briefed members of the House Homeland Security Committee on the truck attack in New Orleans, in which authorities say a man intentionally drove a pickup truck into a crowd in the French Quarter on New Year's Day.
A committee aide said Assistant Director of the FBI's Counterterrorism Division David Scott told committee members and staff, along with members of the Louisiana congressional delegation, that the agency has not found any evidence that the New Orleans attacker had any co-conspirators or was directed by a foreign actor or terrorist organization.
The attack, which officials said left at least 14 people dead and injured dozens of others, is being investigated as an act of terrorism, the FBI said. Flying from the truck's rear bumper was a black ISIS flag. The FBI has identified Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old from Texas, as the man driving the vehicle. Jabbar had "posted videos to social media indicating that he was inspired by ISIS, expressing a desire to kill," President Biden said Wednesday.
The agency confirmed the attack was inspired by ISIS, and the attacker had an ISIS flag attached to the hitch of the truck, the aide said.
As of Thursday afternoon, the FBI has seized cellphones from the attacker and received approximately 239 leads from the public, as well as conducted over 10 interviews with associates and family members of the attacker, the aide said. The attacker, who was born in the U.S. and is an American citizen, was not on any federal government watchlists or systems, the aide said.
The New Orleans terrorist attack happened the same day that a Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside of Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas. That explosion, which happened early Wednesday morning, is being investigated as a possible act of terrorism, according to law enforcement.
The FBI has not found any connection between the New Orleans attack and the Las Vegas explosion at this time, but the Army Criminal Investigation Division is conducting an ongoing probe, the committee aide said.
The Committee will continue conducting oversight of the federal government's response to both incidents, the aide said.
The FBI is leading the investigation, and Mr. Biden said in a statement that he has directed his administration to "ensure every resource is available as federal, state, and local law enforcement work assiduously to get to the bottom of what happened as quickly as possible and to ensure that there is no remaining threat of any kind."
Democratic Rep. Troy Carter, who represents the district and serves on the Homeland Security Committee, said on "CBS Mornings" that he believes New Orleans is secure, citing the FBI's assessment. He said the area has been swept and an exhaustive search has been conducted throughout the downtown area.
"There have been a number of leads that are being acted upon, and like any other terrorist event, you can never be too careful, so our caution is to make sure that we leave no stone unturned as it relates to the investigation," Carter said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said on Fox News Thursday morning that he had spoken with Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and Attorney General Merrick Garland, noting that "there are many, many FBI agents that are on the ground that have been dispatched in New Orleans" who are looking at "every possible angle."
"We are trusting that that partnership between the federal and state authorities will bring us the answers that we need," Johnson added.
Rep. Mike Waltz, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for his national security advisor, said on Fox News that intelligence indicators need to be examined. Although the attacker was born in the U.S., Waltz said that "the entire world knows that we have an open border" and "they intend to hit us, and they are pushing people into our interior to do just that."
Waltz said that if the U.S. is investigating "internally at ourselves, we can't be defending ourselves abroad."
