Biden to visit New Orleans Monday, in wake of Bourbon Street attack
Washington — President Biden and first lady Jill Biden will visit New Orleans on Monday, following the terrorist attack on Bourbon Street on New Year's Day that left at least 14 dead and dozens more injured.
The White House said the president and first lady "will grieve with the families and community members impacted by the tragic attack on January 1 and meet with officials on the ground."
During a White House event honoring acts of valor by public safety officers, the president told reporters that he has spoken with families of the New Orleans victims.
Federal authorities said a driver, identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, plowed a truck into people celebrating New Year's Eve on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter. The attacker was shot and killed by police after exchanging gunfire with three officers who responded, according to the FBI. Jabbar was a 42-year-old U.S. citizen from Texas and had served in the U.S. Army, an Army spokesperson confirmed.
The FBI said Thursday that the attacker posted videos declaring support for ISIS before the massacre, and investigators do not believe Jabbar had accomplices.
Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI's counterintelligence division, said that Jabbar rented a Ford electric pickup truck through a peer-to-peer rental app called Turo and picked the vehicle up in Houston on Dec. 30. He drove to New Orleans the following day and during the drive, posted five videos to his Facebook account, Raia said.
In the videos, the attacker proclaimed support for ISIS and said he had joined the terror group over the summer, according to the FBI. While the investigation into Jabbar's motive is ongoing, Raia said the driver was "100% inspired by ISIS."
FBI bomb technicians also recovered two improvised explosive devices in coolers, Raia said. During remarks Thursday, Mr. Biden said federal investigators determined Jabbar planted the explosives at two locations in the French Quarter before the attack and also had a remote detonator in his truck. Investigators also recovered three phones and two laptops linked to Jabbar, Raia said.
Since the attack early on New Year's Day, Mr. Biden has convened meetings with his Homeland Security team and said Thursday that he has made all resources available for the investigation.
"The people of New Orleans are sending an unmistakable message: They will not let this attack or the attacker's deluded ideology overcome us. None of us should fear it," he said from the White House. "And we're going to relentlessly pursue ISIS and other terrorist organizations where they are, and they'll find no safe harbor here."
