PDB Afternoon Bulletin | January 6th, 2025: FBI Releases NOLA Killer's Recordings & North Korea Fires Suspected Hypersonic Ballistic Missile
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What is the update on the New Orleans terror attack?
It's Monday, 6th January. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First, an update on the ISIS-inspired New Orleans terror attack, as the FBI releases video recordings from the killer that show him surveying the site of the attack some two months before his murderous rampage.
Who is Shamsuddin Jabbar and what did he do?
Then we'll turn to North Korea, where Kim Jong-un is kicking off the new year with a bang, testing an intermediate-range ballistic missile with suspected hypersonic capabilities. But first, our afternoon spotlight. I want to return to our coverage of the ISIS-inspired New Year's Day terror attack in New Orleans, where a U.S. Army veteran drove a pickup truck through a crowd of revelers, killing 14 and injuring 35 others. We're now learning that the terrorist, identified as 42-year-old Shamsuddin Jabbar, made at least two visits to New Orleans before the New Year's Day attack, which he documented on video. At a press conference on Sunday, FBI officials said Jabbar first visited the site of his attack on the 30th of October, staying at a rental home in the city for several days. That's according to a report from CNN. During his stay, Jabbar recorded video as he bicycled through the French Quarter around Bourbon Street.
He reportedly used a pair of Meta smart glasses to film the street and plan out his attack. Jabbar returned to New Orleans again on the 10th of November, though investigators said they're still attempting to piece together the details of that second trip. On Sunday, the FBI released a compilation of video recordings made by Jabbar, as well as footage captured on security cameras of Jabbar walking through the French Quarter just hours before the attack. The video released by the FBI provides the first rough timeline of the events of that tragic day. Investigators said that after renting the Ford F-150 truck used in the attack,
What evidence did the FBI release regarding the attack?
Jabbar left his home in a Muslim immigrant neighborhood north of Houston on the morning of December 31st, telling a neighbor that he was moving to New Orleans for a new job. He arrived in Louisiana at around 2.30 p.m. on the 31st of December and later unloaded his truck at an Airbnb rental property in New Orleans at roughly 10 p.m. Fifteen minutes after midnight, Jabbar set fire to the rental home and left in the truck. Authorities said this was likely done as a diversion and to hide evidence of his crimes, but the fire failed to engulf the home and was later put out. Jabbar then headed into the heart of the city, planting two improvised explosive devices in coolers in the Bourbon Street area, which were rigged for remote detonation. Officials said one of the coolers, left at the corner of Bourbon and St. Peter Street at roughly 1.53 a.m., was moved at some point roughly a block away by unwitting bystanders. The second bomb was planted at roughly 2.20 a.m.
Less than an hour later, at 3.15 a.m., Jabbar would carry out his attack. Authorities were able to neutralize both of the improvised explosive devices planted in the city, along with a third homemade bomb found in his vehicle. Officials with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, ATF, said Sunday that Jabbar might have been successful in setting off the explosives if not for the prompt and heroic response of local police, who engaged in a shootout with Jabbar after he crashed a truck, ultimately killing him. Two officers were injured in that firefight but are recovering from their wounds. In addition to Jabbar's two previous scouting trips to New Orleans, authorities are also probing trips he took to both Egypt and Canada. Jabbar traveled to Cairo from June 22 to July 3, 2023, and then visited Ontario, Canada from July 10 to July 13, 2023.
How did Jabbar plan and execute the attack?
While the FBI maintains that Jabbar acted alone and has no domestic accomplices, they're still tracking down the details of those foreign trips to determine whether or not they are tied in any way to the attack. As a reminder, Jabbar, a convert to Islam, posted five videos to social media in the hours before the attack in which he, quote, pledged allegiance to ISIS.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the update on the New Orleans terror attack?
0:12–0:38
2
Who is Shamsuddin Jabbar and what did he do?
0:38–2:15
3
What evidence did the FBI release regarding the attack?
2:15–4:17
4
How did Jabbar plan and execute the attack?
4:17–7:17
5
What were the results of the FBI's investigation into Jabbar?
7:17–10:02
6
What happened in North Korea at the start of the new year?
10:02–11:14
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from The President's Daily Brief
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