The FBI said on Sunday that the suspect in the deadly New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans visited the city twice – in October and November, scouting the best location to carry out his attack while using a pair of Meta smart glasses to record video of a bicycle ride through the French Quarter.
The suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, stayed at a rental home in New Orleans at the end of October and again in November, just weeks prior to his attack on Bourbon Street that killed 14 people. Jabbar traveled to Cairo from June 22 to July 3, 2023, and to Ontario, Canada, from July 10 to July 13 of that year, per FBI Special Agent in Charge Lyonel Myrthil. Myrthil said on Sunday that he wore the smart glasses to record video as he rode a bicycle through the French Quarter during that trip: “”Our agents are getting answers as to where he went, who he met with and how those trips may or may not tie into his actions here in our city of New Orleans. Meta glasses appear to look like regular glasses, but they allow a user to record videos and photos hand-free. They also allow the user to potentially livestream through their video.” A compilation of the clips was posted online by the FBI, which includes Jabbar testing the glasses in a mirror and surveillance clips of him in the are prior to the truck attack. Images of bystanders were blurred by the FBI.
According to the FBI, Jabbar wore the glasses during his New Year’s Day attack, but they were not activated for a livestream. Meta spokesperson Andy Stone told NBC News that the company is “in touch with law enforcement on this matter.” Investigators also found that Jabbar placed two homemade bombs in the area prior to the attack, but neither device detonated. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said that two firearms were also recovered in the investigation, a semiautomatic pistol and a rifle. The .308-caliber rifle was purchased in a private sale in Arlington, Texas, on Nov. 19.
At least 14 people were killed and dozens were injured in the attack, which occurred over a three-block stretch of Bourbon Street in New Orleans’ bustling French Quarter. Jabbar, a Texas born-citizen who FBI officials said proclaimed his support for the terror group ISIS in social media posts ahead of the attack, was killed in gunfire exchanged with New Orleans police. Federal agents have not found evidence of any accomplices in the attack and reiterated Sunday that it appears Jabbar acted alone, and does not appear to have any U.S.-based accomplices. ISIS has not claimed responsibility for the attack and officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said there is no established link to foreign actors.
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