Two Israeli citizens are among at least 30 people injured in the terrorist attack on New Year’s Eve revelers in New Orleans.
Shamsud Din Jabbar, driving a white Ford F-150 EV, mowed down and shot pedestrians strolling on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter at about 3:15 a.m. in 2025.
The FBI is investigating the massacre “as an act of terror” and New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell described it as a “terrorist attack.”
Louisiana Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser said investigators are looking into whether the attack was linked to ISIS and whether a flag on the back of the truck was linked to the terrorist group.
New Orleans police said the vast majority of the victims were local residents, but Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein said two of the injured were Israeli.
None of the at least forty victims have yet been identified.
Jabbar, 42, was killed during a shootout with police after he got out of his truck and started shooting, wounding two officers who were in stable conditions.
Police Chief Inspector Anne Kirkpatrick said the suspect, who is from Texas and served in the US military, was “determined to cause a massacre.”
Shamsud Din Jabbar (pictured), 42, has been identified as the driver who slaughtered pedestrians
The driver who rammed into pedestrians celebrating the New Year in New Orleans, killing at least 10 people and injuring dozens, is dead after a shootout with police
Authorities investigating the “mass casualty incident” said Jabbar exhibited “highly deliberate behavior” after driving into the crowd before getting out and firing a weapon.
Officials said an improvised explosive device was found in the area. At around 8.30 am, a ‘small explosion’ went off in the neighborhood when the device was detonated by the bomb squad.
The FBI will now lead the investigation into the attack.
Initially, the FBI said there was no connection to terrorism, but later confirmed that the mass fatality was indeed being investigated as such.
Witnesses claimed Jabbar was “wearing full body armor” and “armed with an assault rifle,” and officials said he was “trying to run over as many people as possible.”
Investigators recovered a handgun and an AR-style rifle after the shooting, law enforcement officials said.
Videos circulating on social media showed a chaotic scene in the tourist hotspot as people ran from the victim-strewn area as bullets rang out in the background.
The truck entered the U.S. from Mexico two days ago through Eagle Pass, Texas, multiple news sources reported.
The vehicle was rented through the car-sharing app Turo. The 42-year-old man who made the report lives in Houston and “has already been contacted by federal investigators.”
The car had Texas license plates and it was not clear when it left the US before returning to the country.
The suspect rammed into the large group at high speed, then got out and started shooting with a weapon, witnesses said
Videos circulating on social media that appear to have been recorded at the scene show multiple victims on the ground as shots ring out in the background
Ambulances rushed the injured to five hospitals and paramedics, ambulances and vehicles from the coroner’s office were on the scene.
A man, who claimed to have witnessed the incident while out with his wife, wrote on Twitter that he saw the SUV driving down the road “fast” and “running people over.”
Another alleged witness told WLWT she saw the vehicle hit the crowd and multiple officers open fire on the suspect. She said she started running and was only able to escape “by the grace of God.”
Kevin Garcia, 22, told CNN that the car “smashed into everyone on the left side of Bourbon’s sidewalk.” He heard gunshots and claimed “a body was flying towards me.”
Whit Davis, a 22-year-old witness from Shreveport, Louisiana, said he was at a nightclub when the attack occurred. He recalled how people “started running and hiding under tables” in a scene that resembled “an active shooter exercise.”
Police then detained him and a group of partygoers in the bar, Davis told the BBC, noting that when they were finally allowed to leave the establishment, they “walked past dead and injured bodies all over the street.”
Bourbon Street, famous for its many bars and clubs, was closed while investigators worked on the scene. People were advised to stay away from the area.