Bomb-making materials found at Texas home of New Orleans attacker, officials say
Federal investigators found bomb-making materials while searching the Texas home of the man responsible for the deadly truck attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, law enforcement officials said Friday.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S.-born citizen from Texas, was living in Houston. It's not clear what types of materials the investigators found at the Houston home. They took inventory of the materials and returned the home back to its owner.
"The searches turned up chemicals, filters, thermometers and numerous other items used in making homemade high explosives," said Richard Esposito, CBS law enforcement contributor and author of "Bomb Squad." He said the precursor chemicals found at the home included several of those used to make a powerful explosive.
Officials say Jabbar drove from Houston to New Orleans in a rented pickup truck and plowed through a crowd of revelers at around 3 a.m. on New Year's Day, killing 14 people and injuring dozens. Officials said he was shot dead by police. The attack is being investigated as an act of terrorism.
Jabbar had placed two improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, along Bourbon Street, deputy assistant director of the FBI's counterintelligence division, Christopher Raia, said at a briefing Thursday. Raia said the devices were found in coolers, and were active at the time, but were "rendered safe" by law enforcement. A person familiar with the investigation told CBS News that the devices were rudimentary pipe bombs that contained shrapnel including nails, screws and tacks.
Jabbar was wearing body armor at the time of the attack, two sources familiar with the investigation told CBS News. He also had two weapons on him, which law enforcement sources described as an AR-15 style weapon and a handgun.
Investigators also searched the Airbnb where Jabbar stayed in New Orleans and detonated materials they described as concerning to them at the location of the Airbnb on Wednesday afternoon. The building caught fire on Wednesday morning.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said Friday that it believes Jabbar set a small fire in the hallway, and "strategically placed accelerants throughout the house in his effort to destroy it and other evidence of his crime." But it said the fire burned itself out before spreading to other rooms.
The House Homeland Security Committee and other members of Congress received an FBI briefing on the investigation Thursday. The FBI confirmed that the agency has not found any evidence that Jabbar had any co-conspirators or was directed by a foreign actor or terrorist organization, but said the attack was inspired by ISIS, a committee aide told CBS News.
Jabbar posted videos declaring his support for ISIS shortly before the deadly rampage, the FBI said Thursday and had an ISIS flag attached to the vehicle's trailer hitch.
Federal agencies said in a bulletin released overnight Friday that vehicle ramming attacks followed by the use of secondary weapons including explosives were an endorsed ISIS tactic, and warned of "copycat or retaliatory" attacks.
