SHREVEPORT, La. — The FBI reported that the individual responsible for the New Year’s Day truck attack in New Orleans conducted research on how to get onto a balcony on Bourbon Street and sought details about a similar attack that occurred at a Christmas market in Germany.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the FBI shared that their preliminary investigation of 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar and his electronic devices indicated that he extensively researched New Orleans prior to the violence. He also searched about accessing a Bourbon Street balcony, Mardi Gras, and several shootings in the area, with searches continuing as recently as mid-November.

“Just hours before the Bourbon Street attack, he also looked up the incident involving a vehicle that struck victims in a Christmas market in Germany, which had happened just ten days prior,” the FBI noted.

On December 20, 2024, a driver in a rented SUV collided with a crowd at a Christmas market in east-central Germany, resulting in six fatalities and injuries to over 200 others. The authorities apprehended a 50-year-old Saudi Arabian doctor, who allegedly has expressed anti-Islamic sentiments and support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

On New Year’s Day, Jabbar — an Army veteran and U.S.-born citizen from Texas — was recorded by surveillance cameras placing homemade bombs in coolers at two locations on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter. Fortunately, the bombs failed to explode.

After deploying the explosives, Jabbar drove a pickup truck through a police blockade and crashed into a gathering of people on Bourbon Street. He was killed in a shootout with law enforcement. The FBI confirmed that 14 people were killed, and at least 57 others suffered injuries from the attack.

Authorities are still investigating Jabbar’s motivations for his actions, with officials suggesting the attack drew inspiration from the Islamic State militant group, known as ISIS.

“The FBI, in collaboration with our partners, is committed to determining what led Shamsud-Din Jabbar to drive into a crowd on Bourbon Street,” the agency stated. “Thanks to the public’s extensive response, the FBI is getting closer to providing answers for families who lost loved ones, as well as the other victims of the New Year’s Day incident.”

FBI Provides More Insights into Suspect’s Actions Before New Orleans Attack

The FBI believes Jabbar acted alone in what they classify as a deliberate “act of terrorism.” In the hours leading up to the attack, it was reported that he uploaded five videos on a digital platform expressing his allegiance to ISIS.

On Tuesday, the FBI revealed additional evidence from their investigation suggesting that Jabbar “grew more devout in his Islamic faith in 2022.”

“During this period, Jabbar started withdrawing from society,” the FBI reported. “Around the spring of 2024, he began to adopt extremist ideologies.”

Earlier this month, the FBI outlined a timeline detailing Jabbar’s actions in the months preceding the attack, which included at least two visits to New Orleans in October and November 2024.

According to Lyonel Myrthil, the special agent in charge of the New Orleans field office, Jabbar checked into a rental property in New Orleans starting October 30, 2024, and stayed for a minimum of two days during that stay.

Investigators believe Jabbar may have been strategizing his attack during this trip and wore “smart glasses” to film a bike tour around the French Quarter.

Jabbar returned to New Orleans on November 10, 2024, traveling by train from Houston — where he lived prior to the attack — and returned that evening by bus.

While in New Orleans, Jabbar explored an apartment available for rent on Orleans Street, just a few blocks from the attack site. The FBI mentioned that shortly after this visit, he applied to rent the apartment but later informed the landlord that he had changed his mind.

Contributing: John Bacon and Joey Garrison, YSL News; Reuters