Two Israelis wounded in ISIS-affiliated terror attack in New Orleans

Two Israeli citizens were wounded in the New Year's Day car-ramming in New Orleans, Israeli media reported on Wednesday, citing a Foreign Ministry statement.

באירוע הדריסה והירי ברובע הצרפתי בניו אורלינס נפצעו שני אזרחים ישראלים. משרד החוץ והקונסוליה הכללית ביוסטון עומדים בקשר עם בתי החולים ועם בני משפחות הפצועים. בהנחיית שר החוץ גדעון סער, נציג הקונסוליה ביוסטון נמצא בדרכו לניו אורלינס.

— משרד החוץ (@IsraelHebrew) January 1, 2025

A representative of the Israeli General Consulate in Houston is on the way to New Orleans at the request of Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, the announcement added.

Fifteen people were killed when a pickup truck with an ISIS flag on the trailer hitch intentionally rammed into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans early Wednesday morning. The suspect drove "at a very fast pace" and then fired at local law enforcement, according to CNN. 

The victims included the mother of a 4-year-old who had just moved into a new apartment after getting a promotion at work, a New York financial employee and accomplished student-athlete who was visiting home for the holidays, and an 18-year-old aspiring nurse from Mississippi.

The FBI named the suspect as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, an American citizen and veteran from Harris County, Texas. 

Agents believe that he was not acting alone. 

“We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible,” FBI Assistant Special Agent Alethea Duncan said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon, as reported by CNN. “We are aggressively running down every lead, including those of his known associates.”

Duncan added that the FBI was working to investigate “the subject’s potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations."

NBC reported that authorities were still working on his background information and travel history.

The FBI is currently working to investigate the incident "as an act of terrorism," the agency said in a statement on Wednesday.

Potential terror attack

Earlier in the day, there were conflicting reports from local leadership and the FBI on whether or not the incident was a terrorist attack.

The New Orleans incident is "not a terrorist event" says FBI assistant special agent in charge, Aletha Duncan.There have been "improvised explosive devices" found in the area, she adds.The local mayor called it a "terrorist attack" moments before.https://t.co/lgEpBlrO0r pic.twitter.com/aauIieHNQp

— Sky News (@SkyNews) January 1, 2025

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell stated that she believed the ramming was a terror attack. However,  Duncan said in a press conference on Wednesday morning that the incident was not yet considered an act of terror, NBC reported. 

Duncan said at the conference that IEDs were found at the scene. The FBI said that its special agent bomb technicians were working with authorities to see if they were viable. 

The Department of Homeland Security and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are on the scene supporting the FBI in the investigation, NBC reported. 

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in a post on X/Twitter that his department is "working closely" with law enforcement officials in New Orleans to investigate the events. 

What happened?

Some 35 people were wounded in the ramming, according to multiple media reports. The incident occurred at 3:15 a.m. at the intersection of Canal and Bourbon Streets during New Year's celebrations, the city said in a statement.

The area is located in the French Quarter, a historic tourist attraction in New Orleans known for its vibrant nightlife and music.

Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick said that the driver swerved around barricades that were up for the evening's festivities.  He then fired at police and struck two officers from the vehicle after it crashed. 

“This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could," Kirkpatrick stated, adding that Din Habbar was "hellbent" on "creating the carnage and the damage that he did."

At the time of the event, New Orleans authorities were in the process of putting up new security bollards in the area ahead of the Superbowl where Jabbar attacked. Police said that they knew that the security barriers were "malfunctioning", but they had officers and cars there to protect citizens.

“This particular terrorist drove around onto the sidewalk and got around the hard target. We did have a car there, we had barriers there, we had officers there, and they still got around," Kirkpatrick said. 

Jabbar, a resident of Houston, Texas, rented the Ford F-150 truck with Texas plates used in the attack on the app Turo. The truck was seen in northern Harris County on Tuesday at around 10:15 a.m. local time, according to Houston channel ABC13 news. It was later observed in eastern Texas heading in the direction of New Orleans at 12:15 p.m.

The Independent reported those wounded are currently receiving treatment at the University Medical Center, Touro Hospital, East Jefferson General Hospital, Ochsner Medical Center Jefferson Campus, and Ochsner Baptist Campus.

“We have information to a certain degree of the demographics of those who are in the hospital right now,” Kirkpatrick said, as reported by CNN. “We do not know at this point how many could be tourists versus locals, but from the information I have right now, it seems the majority are locals.”

Kirkpatrick stated that there were 300 officers on duty in the area at the time of the attack. 

The city of New Orleans's emergency preparedness campaign warned of a mass casualty event and advised people to stay away from the area.

"The 8th District is currently working a mass casualty incident involving a vehicle that drove into a large crowd on Canal and Bourbon Street," NOLA said. "Public safety partners are responding on scene."

Witness Whit Davis, 22, told CNN he was leaving a club when the ramming occurred but was forced into lockdown as a security measure.

“Everyone started yelling and screaming and running to the back, and then we basically went into lockdown for a little bit, and then it calmed down, but they wouldn’t let us leave,” Davis said. “When they finally let us out of the club, police waved us where to walk and were telling us to get out of the area fast. I saw a few dead bodies they couldn’t even cover up and tons of people receiving first aid.”

“When we got up there … it was just unimaginable casualty,” said Jimmy Cothran, a New Orleans resident of 15 years told CNN. He and a friend ran to a balcony of a club after a group of people pushed into the entrance to hide under tables. “I mean, just the disfigurement and the bodies strewn, something you can’t unsee. You’ll never forget.”

Cothran told CNN that he and his friend counted eight bodies, one of which was "completely flat in the middle."

Alex Birth-Mitchell, a witness of the ramming, told CNN that he was still in shock. “I can’t believe it still," he said. Birth-Mitchell walked up and down the street and "had just gotten to this club when the truck came through plowing everyone down." 

CNN reported that he was able to skip the line for a club because he and his friends had wristbands. “If we had been waiting outside, we would be dead, maybe."

Information about the suspect

Duncan said in a Wednesday press conference that Jabbar was a veteran who was potentially honorably discharged. 

“We believe he was honorably discharged, but we are working through this process, figuring out all this information,” she stated.

Houston broadcast outlet KPRC2 reported that Jabbar had a previous criminal history. He was arrested in 2002 and 2005 by two respective police departments in Texas. 

KAN News reported that Jabbar was a real estate agent from the Houston area. 

In a video circulating on social media, he alleges that he never left Texas unless it was for his military service. He claimed to have served as a Human Rights and IT specialist. 

Officials react

President Joe Biden praised New Orleans law enforcement for their "swift" actions and pledged to investigate the event further.

"I have directed my team 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," Biden wrote in a Wednesday statement. 

Biden will be continually briefed on the situations throughout the day, the White House confirmed.

“President Biden has been briefed on the horrific news that a driver killed and injured dozens of individuals in New Orleans overnight, and the White House has been in touch with New Orleans Mayor Cantrell to offer support,” the White House statement reads.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland also pledged the full support of the federal government to the investigation.

“The country woke up this morning to news of a terrible tragedy in New Orleans," Garland said in a statement. He said federal law enforcement agencies would "deploy every available resource to conduct this investigation."

President-elect Donald Trump said in a statement that his incoming administration would "fully support the City of New Orleans as they investigate and recover from this act of pure evil!"

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R – Louisiana) said that the incident was "an act of pure evil" and asked civilians to join him in praying for the victims. 

The vicious attack on innocent people celebrating the New Year in New Orleans early this morning was an act of pure evil, and justice must be swift for anyone who was involved. Please join us in praying for the victims, their families, and the first responders and investigators…

— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) January 1, 2025

Lousiana Senator Bill Cassidy asked his followers on X/Twitter to "give thanks for the police officers responding" and added that he would be remembering the victims. 

“Please join me in praying for the victims and their families, as well as our first responders, in the wake of this horrific act of violence on Bourbon Street,” Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R- Louisiana) said in a post on X/Twitter.

"A horrific act of violence took place on Bourbon Street earlier this morning.  Please join Sharon and I in praying for all the victims and first responders on scene," local Governor Jeff Landry wrote on X/Twitter. "I urge all near the scene to avoid the area."

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill called the attack "devastating news" and said that she was praying for those affected in a post on X/Twitter. 

Many of us woke up this morning to devastating news of the brutal intentional slaughter of innocent people celebrating the New Year in New Orleans. I’m praying for the victims and their families and will ensure they get justice for this appalling act. Please avoid the immediate…

— Attorney General Liz Murrill (@AGLizMurrill) January 1, 2025

Car rammings

New Orleans has seen shootings and cars colliding with crowds at past parades.

The attack came as New Orleans prepared to host the annual Sugar Bowl football game on Wednesday night.

The game was subsequently cancelled for 24 hours, Sugar Bowl Chief Executive Officer Jeff Hundley announced Wednesday afternoon.

"The Sugar Bowl Committee is devastated by the terrible events from early this morning. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. We are in ongoing discussions with authorities on the local, state, and federal levels and will communicate further details as they become available," Hundley said in a statement earlier in the day.

“The terrorists win, if we allow them to strike terror in our heart,” Senator Cassidy told CNN. “They lose when we continue with our lives. And let it be known if there is terrorism, we shall track them down, and we shall track them down and bring them to justice."

After the attack, other bowl games scheduled for Wednesday started ramping up security, CNN reported. 

Atlanta is set to host the Peach Bowl on Wednesday afternoon; local law enforcement said that “specialized units and additional personnel will be further deployed" to areas throughout the city for the safety of citizens and tourists, CNN reported.

In November 2024, two people were killed and 10 others injured in two separate shootings along a New Orleans parade route and celebration attended by thousands, local media reported.

In February 2017, a pickup truck driven by a man who police said appeared to be highly intoxicated plowed into a crowd of spectators watching the main Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, injuring more than 20 people.

Last week, five people were killed and hundreds wounded when a vehicle rammed into a Christmas market in Germany.

This is a developing story.