New Orleans Attacker Was ‘Inspired’ by ISIS, Biden Says (2025)

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New Orleans Attacker Was ‘Inspired’ by ISIS, Biden Says (1)

Devlin BarrettAdam GoldmanHamed AleazizEmily Cochrane and Aishvarya Kavi

Here’s the latest on the attack.

The Army veteran who rammed a pickup into New Year’s revelers on Bourbon Street was “inspired by” the Islamic State terrorist organization, President Biden said Wednesday night in a short address from Camp David. In videos posted to social media shortly before the attack in New Orleans that killed at least 15, the man indicated that he had a “desire to kill,” Mr. Biden said.

The president said he had been briefed on the New Orleans attacker’s posts by federal investigators, who were looking into his possible ties to the Islamic State. In some of the videos, the suspect had “pledged allegiance to ISIS” and appeared to be driving, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The driver, identified as Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, a 42-year-old from Texas, died in a shootout with the police.

Officials were also investigating whether the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday morning was linked to the attack in New Orleans, Mr. Biden said. One person was killed and at least seven were injured in the explosion.

The New Orleans attack raised concerns about the city’s security precautions, which officials acknowledged had failed to stop the attacker. Officials postponed the city’s iconic Sugar Bowl until Thursday.

Here’s what else to know:

  • The attack: Mr. Jabbar drove the truck at a high speed into crowds around 3:15 a.m. before crashing and exchanging fire with three police officers, said Anne Kirkpatrick, the New Orleans Police superintendent. Two officers were injured in the gunfight and were hospitalized, she added. Here’s what we know about the victims of the attack.

  • The suspect: Mr. Jabbar served almost eight years in the Army, including a deployment to Afghanistan, and was honorably discharged. He recently converted to Islam and began behaving erratically, according to his ex-wife’s husband. An Islamic State flag, weapons and a potential explosive device were found in the truck that officials say he used in the attack. Here’s what we know about him.

  • The investigation: The ISIS flag and potential bombs have raised the specter that the international terrorist group played a role in the attack. Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent for the F.B.I. in New Orleans, urged anyone who has had contact with the suspect in the last 72 hours to reach out to law enforcement. “We’re aggressively running down every lead, including those of his known associates,” she said.

  • Rental link: The trucks used in the attack in New Orleans and the explosion in Las Vegas were both rented through Turo, a peer-to-peer rental app, the company said.

  • Security questions: Officials said that security bollards along a section of Bourbon Street had been removed for repairs in preparation for the Super Bowl next month. Patrol cars and barriers had been set up to block access instead, but the attacker drove around them, Superintendent Kirkpatrick said, adding, “We did indeed have a plan, but the terrorist defeated it.” Read more about security.

Jan. 1, 2025, 10:25 p.m. ET

Adam Goldman

The suspect had “pledged allegiance to ISIS” in several videos posted to his Facebook page the night before the attack, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity. He appeared to be driving in the videos, which were addressed to his family.

Jan. 1, 2025, 10:11 p.m. ET

Glenn Thrush

Reporting from Washington

Investigators look for links between the New Orleans attack and a Las Vegas blast.

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Investigators are looking into whether the deadly terrorist attack in New Orleans on Wednesday is linked to the detonation of a Tesla Cybertruck outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas later in the day, but they have yet to find any connection between the two episodes, President Biden said.

Local and federal law enforcement officials are trying to determine if the man who drove a truck into a crowd in the French Quarter just after 3 a.m. on Wednesday and the man who rented the Tesla that exploded in Nevada are connected beyond superficial similarities: Both men chose soft targets on New Year’s Day and rented trucks through the same budget car rental app, Turo.

“Law enforcement, the intelligence community are investigating” the Las Vegas explosion, “including whether there is any possible connection to the attack in New Orleans,” Mr. Biden said in a brief statement to reporters at Camp David.

“I directed my team to make sure every resource is made available to the federal, state and local law enforcement, to complete the investigation in New Orleans quickly, and make sure there’s no remaining threat to the American people,” he added.

Mr. Biden’s statement reflected the heightened sense of alarm among federal law enforcement officials who are investigating whether the New Orleans attack involved a larger cell of ISIS sympathizers — a scenario the F.B.I. and intelligence officials have warned was a growing threat.

Officials emphasized there was no reason to believe the two episodes were connected despite Mr. Biden’s comments. But they have yet to nail down key details of the Las Vegas blast — including whether the badly burned body recovered from the Cybertruck matches the man who rented the vehicle, according to a senior law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.

One person was killed and at least seven people were injured after the Tesla, packed with fireworks and gas canisters, exploded outside an entrance of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.

At a news conference, Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said the authorities “believe this to be an isolated incident” but have not yet ruled out a connection to the attack in New Orleans that killed at least 15 people.

“There is no further threat to the community,” Sheriff McMahill said.

As of Wednesday afternoon, there was no indication the explosion was connected to ISIS, which Mr. Biden said inspired the New Orleans attack, but the investigation continued, Sheriff McMahill added.

The police said the Tesla was rented in Colorado using Turo, an app that matches private car owners with renters. The authorities were able to trace the vehicle back to Colorado using video footage captured at charging stations.

Sheriff McMahill said he thought it was a “coincidence” that both men used Turo.

Turo officials said that they did not believe the renter of either truck “had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat.”

The F.B.I. said the driver in the New Orleans attack, Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, 42, who served eight years in the Army, died after injuring two police officers in a shootout after he sped a truck into a crowd of New Year’s revelers at one the most popular tourist destinations in the city.

New Orleans Attacker Was ‘Inspired’ by ISIS, Biden Says (4)

Truck crashed

NEW ORLEANS

Direction

of truck

Severely injured

people visible

in videos

Bourbon St.

Truck went onto

sidewalk to get

around police car

Police car

Canal St.

New Orleans Attacker Was ‘Inspired’ by ISIS, Biden Says (5)

NEW ORLEANS

Truck

crashed

Direction

of truck

Severely injured people visible in videos

Bourbon St.

Truck went

onto sidewalk

to get around

police car

Police car

Canal St.

Sources: Police officials, photos and videos of the attack

By Julie Walton Shaver, Lauren Leatherby, Helmuth Rosales and June Kim; aerial image by Airbus via Google Earth

Jan. 1, 2025, 9:52 p.m. ET

Isabelle Taft

Reporting from New Orleans

A New Orleans neighborhood describes an unnerving day in the hours after the attack.

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Residents of Mandeville Street, in a neighborhood of shotgun houses less than two miles from the French Quarter in New Orleans, were awakened Wednesday morning by law enforcement officers in SWAT gear ordering them to leave their homes — immediately.

Hours later, several blocks of Mandeville and adjacent streets were still cordoned off by federal and local law enforcement, and no one was being allowed back inside on Wednesday afternoon. Displaced residents said they had received no official explanation as to why they had been ordered to leave, but they believed it was connected to the French Quarter attack early Wednesday morning.

Richie Williams, 63, said he woke up around 5:30 a.m. and saw several fire trucks on his block of Mandeville. He saw smoke coming from a house a few doors down, and it smelled like burning rubber, but there were no flames. Two hours later, the law enforcement in SWAT gear arrived.

After a few hours of waiting, Mr. Williams, who is diabetic, asked to retrieve his medication from his house. An F.B.I. agent accompanied him inside, he said.

“They are on the job,” he said of the law enforcement officers. “Caution is better than the loss of lives.”

By Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Williams was charging his phone in Annunciation Church, which is a few blocks from his home and had been designated as a relief location for displaced residents and law enforcement agents needing restrooms and water.

Other neighbors wandered in and out, trading tips about when they might be able to return home.

Nathan Wheeler, 38, who lives on a different street in the evacuation zone, said they were concerned about the potential for explosive devices, especially after reading that such devices had been found in the French Quarter.

“This neighborhood is not particularly well-known,” they said. “It’s not likely to be a target.”

By 7 p.m., law enforcement had narrowed the secured area to a single block of Mandeville Street — Mr. Williams’s — and allowed residents there to access their homes if they could prove residency.

Jan. 1, 2025, 9:50 p.m. ET

Isabelle Taft

Reporting from New Orleans

The French Quarter was eerily quiet well beyond Bourbon Street on Wednesday evening. A nine-block stretch of Bourbon and nearby streets were closed off. Carl Armstrong, a sergeant with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, parked his pickup at Burgundy and Conti Street, not far from where the attack occurred, and asked pedestrians to show an ID and hotel room key or turn around. On the same corner, a small crowd gathered in the Three-Legged Dog Tavern and discussed the attack.

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Jan. 1, 2025, 9:52 p.m. ET

Isabelle Taft

Reporting from New Orleans

Service industry workers gathered at French Quarter bars like Fahy’s Irish Pub and shared their worries about how the attack could affect the city’s economy. They had been ready for big business on Wednesday, the day of the Sugar Bowl, and instead the mood was quiet and melancholy. Jean Manning, a 31-year-old waitress at a bar and restaurant on Decatur Street, said it had felt strange to be at work, and wondered whether she should greet customers with “Happy New Year.”

Jan. 1, 2025, 9:48 p.m. ET

Dave Philipps

Dave Philipps covers the U.S. military.

The attacker’s military record includes a deployment to Afghanistan.

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Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar has more than a decade’s worth of experience in the military, records show.

Mr. Jabbar, who the police said drove a pickup in a deadly attack in New Orleans early Wednesday, served in the Army from March 2007 until January 2015 and deployed once to Afghanistan, before serving in the Army Reserve until July 2020, according to a U.S. Army release. He left with the rank of staff sergeant.

According to the Army’s statement, Mr. Jabbar was a human resource specialist and information technology specialist. He told a reporter in 2015 that he spent most of his military career as an information technology specialist, running a help desk. The Army awarded him several medals for good conduct and achievement, as well as for completing parachute jump school.

In 2012, he listed his employer’s address on a court document as the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Liberty — then known as Fort Bragg — in North Carolina.

In recent years, extremism in the military has been a growing concern of some lawmakers and members of the public. A 2023 report commissioned by the Defense Department found no elevated presence of violent extremism among active duty troops, but noted that extremism did seem to be elevated among veterans.

“For the veterans’ community in particular, loss of military identity appears to have a strong association with difficult adjustments to civilian life that can in turn contribute to negative behaviors,” the report said.

Texas, where Mr. Jabbar lived, has a particularly fraught history with veterans and violence. In 2009, an Army major and psychiatrist killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 others at a readiness processing center at Fort Hood, now called Fort Cavazos. In 2016, an Army Reserve veteran ambushed police officers in Dallas, killing five of them.

And in what is perhaps the most notorious mass shooting in the state, the 1966 shooting at the University of Texas at Austin, a former Marine sniper killed 15 people, shooting many of them from a clock tower on the university’s campus.

Jan. 1, 2025, 9:46 p.m. ET

Stephanie Saul

Reporting on higher education

Two 19-year-old college students from southwest Florida, Elle Eisele and Steele Idelson, are among the dozens of people injured in Wednesday’s attack in New Orleans, according to social media postings by Rep. Byron Donalds, a Florida Republican. Eisele is a student at the University of Georgia, and Idelson attends San Diego State University.

Jan. 1, 2025, 9:25 p.m. ET

Adam Goldman and Devlin Barrett

The F.B.I. released a photo of the suspect, asking for information on him.

The F.B.I. made public a passport photograph of Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, the Texas man suspected of carrying out the terrorist attack in New Orleans on Wednesday morning that killed at least 15 people, and asked the news media for help in disseminating it.

Investigators believe that Mr. Jabbar, an Army veteran, mowed down New Year’s revelers on Bourbon Street in a truck before the police shot him dead. At a news conference on Wednesday, Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent for the F.B.I. in New Orleans, urged anyone who had contact with him in the prior 72 hours to reach out to law enforcement.

The attack is one of the deadliest in the country in more than a year. The F.B.I. said Mr. Jabbar had an Islamic State flag in his truck, as well as a potential bomb and weapons. The terrorist group, also known as ISIS, has inspired terror attacks around the globe.

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Addressing the news media at Camp David Wednesday evening, President Biden said that he was briefed by the F.B.I. that Mr. Jabbar had posted videos on social media “mere hours” before the attack “indicating that he was inspired by ISIS.”

Emily Cochrane contributed reporting.

Jan. 1, 2025, 8:58 p.m. ET

Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs

In an emailed statement, the car rental company Turo confirmed that the truck used in the New Orleans attack and the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded in Las Vegas were rented through its service.

Jan. 1, 2025, 8:59 p.m. ET

Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs

Though the driver of the vehicle in Las Vegas has not yet been publicly identified, Turo officials said that they did not believe the renter of either truck “had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat.”

New Orleans Attacker Was ‘Inspired’ by ISIS, Biden Says (15)

Jan. 1, 2025, 8:42 p.m. ET

Jenny VrentasShannon Sims and Eli Tan

The trucks used in the New Orleans attack and Las Vegas explosion were both rented through Turo.

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Follow the latest updates on the New Orleans attack.

The trucks used in the deadly attack in New Orleans and the explosion at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday were rented through the same peer-to-peer rental app, Turo, according to the company.

The owner of the Ford pickup truck used in New Orleans recognized his vehicle when he saw footage showing the truck and license plate on the news. He had rented the truck to a 42-year-old Army veteran who then used it to ram into crowds on Bourbon Street, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens more.

The truck’s owner, who did not want his name used, said that he had been renting five cars on Turo as a second income stream but that he did not plan to use the platform again after the attack.

In Las Vegas, the police said during a news conference that the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump Hotel’s lobby entrance, killing one and injuring at least seven others, was also rented from Turo. Officials called it a “coincidence” and said they were continuing to investigate any possible connections.

The company said in a statement that it was “actively partnering with law enforcement authorities as they investigate both incidents.”

“We do not believe that either renter involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat,” the statement said. “We remain committed to maintaining the highest standards in risk management.”

Turo, which began as a venture capital-backed startup in 2009, connects car owners with people looking to rent a car as an alternative to using a traditional rental company. The concept is similar to Airbnb, in that customers can rent a specific car make and model and coordinate pickup and drop-off with the car owner.

About 3.5 million people have booked a vehicle through Turo in the past year, according to a company filing. The filing from November said that about 150,000 people have rented out their cars during that period and that there were about 350,000 active vehicle listings in more than 16,000 cities as of September. Some car owners used the service to offset their car payments and costs while others rented out numerous cars as their primary income source.

The company had widely been expected to go public this year, and first filed paperwork for an initial public offering in 2022.

To book a car on Turo in the United States, you need to create an account with the company; provide a valid driver’s license, home address and payment card; and be at least 18 years old, according to the company’s website. The company also said that additional information could be requested to verify an account or check a customer’s credit history, auto insurance score or criminal background, and that it can decline trips or remove users from the platform at its discretion.

Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs contributed reporting.

Jan. 1, 2025, 8:19 p.m. ET

Sean Keenan

Sean Keenan is a freelance contributor to The Times, based in Atlanta.

The attacker told his college paper that he struggled to adjust to life after the military.

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The man identified by authorities as the attacker who drove a truck through New Year’s revelers in New Orleans had struggled to acclimate to civilian life after leaving the military, he told me in a 2015 interview with Georgia State University’s student paper.

The man, Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, attended Georgia State from 2015 until 2017, when he received a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems, according to university officials. I interviewed him for an article about the challenges of college life as a veteran in 2015.

Mr. Jabbar complained that the complexity of the Department of Veterans Affairs bureaucracy sometimes made it difficult for veterans to get their tuition and other educational benefits paid through the G.I. Bill, and that even a single missing signature or sheet of paper could affect an applicant’s benefits. “It’s such a large agency,” he said, adding, “you have to do your due diligence, make sure you have your paperwork together.”

He also said that he found it challenging to communicate without defaulting to the military jargon he had adopted during his years in the service — and that doing so can make it difficult for veterans when applying for civilian jobs.

“There’s so many different acronyms you’ve learned,” Mr. Jabbar said, adding, “You don’t know how to speak without using these terms, and you’re not sure what terms are used outside the military.”

Mr. Jabbar told me that he had spent four years as an information technology specialist in the reserves, running a help desk for 250 people at Fort Bragg (renamed in 2021 as Fort Liberty). He had been a human resources specialist during a deployment to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010, he said.

Military officials confirmed on Wednesday that Mr. Jabbar had served in the Army from 2007 to 2015 and deployed to Afghanistan. He then served in the Army Reserve until 2020, leaving the military with the rank of staff sergeant.

Jan. 1, 2025, 7:56 p.m. ET

Yonette Joseph

Mexico’s foreign affairs ministry said U.S. officials had confirmed that two Mexican nationals were injured in the attack in New Orleans but that they were in stable condition.

Jan. 1, 2025, 7:37 p.m. ET

Aishvarya Kavi

Reporting from Camp David

President Biden said law enforcement and the intelligence community were also investigating the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas and whether it was linked to the attack in New Orleans.

New Orleans Attacker Was ‘Inspired’ by ISIS, Biden Says (19)

Jan. 1, 2025, 7:09 p.m. ET

Christina MoralesClyde McGradyKate SeligJesus Jiménez and Emily Cochrane

Here’s what we know about some of the victims.

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Many of them had arrived on Bourbon Street on New Year’s Eve to celebrate the promise of the year to come: a woman on the cusp of starting her studies to become a nurse, a father of two spending time with his cousin, a former Princeton University football player.

But at around 3:15 a.m., a Texas man drove his truck through the crowd of revelers, killing at least 14 people and injuring dozens more, before opening fire. The injured include two police officers who confronted the driver, two Israeli citizens and a University of Georgia student.

This is what we have learned about some of those who died in the attack.

Hubert Gauthreaux

Hubert Gauthreaux, 21, told his family he was heading to the Riverwalk to watch the fireworks on New Year’s Eve. His sister, Brooke Gauthreaux, 26, teased him about not wanting to hang out at home with her and their mother, but before he left she told him she loved him, according to Ms. Gauthreaux.

After midnight, Hubert texted his family, wishing them a happy new year.

When they woke the next morning, Ms. Gauthreaux said, their mother instinctively checked Mr. Gauthreaux’s phone location and discovered that he had ventured to Bourbon Street. When they heard about the attack, they “went into panic mode,” she said.

The family drove to the University Medical Center and waited. Later that afternoon, they learned that he had died.

Someone from the hospital prayed with them. “And then we all wailed for probably another two hours together until we could muster up enough energy to come home,” Ms. Gauthreaux said.

Mr. Gauthreaux was a selfless family member with a big heart, who would call for random check-ins and drop anything to help someone, according to his sister.

“Just last week, he took a tire off his car to let his friend borrow, and he drove around on a spare tire,” she said.

Mr. Gauthreaux had been recently trying to step up his fashion sense, his sister recalled. “I’m wearing his sweatshirt right now,” she said through tears, after going through his half-done laundry. She also came across a Camaro jacket she’d purchased for him. Walking around Target one day, she spotted it and texted a picture to her brother. He had to have it, so she bought it for him.

“I think he got to wear it once,” she said. “He was my best friend.”

Drew Dauphin

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Drew Dauphin, 26, was in New Orleans from Alabama with his little brother, Matthew. They had gone to a concert and, later, to eat pizza. Ten minutes before the attack, they had separated, said Becky Devereux, a friend who spoke on behalf of the family.

Mr. Dauphin was a supply process manager at Honda, according to his LinkedIn page. He graduated from Auburn University last year, the school’s president, Christopher B. Roberts, said in a statement.

“Words cannot convey the sorrow the Auburn family feels for Drew’s family and friends during this unimaginably difficult time,” Mr. Roberts said. “Our thoughts are with the Dauphin family and the families of all the victims of this senseless tragedy.”

Ms. Devereux described Mr. Dauphin as “a great friend to all.” On Thursday morning, his mother told Ms. Devereux that “it was like Christmas morning when he came home.”

A statement issued by the family said that Mr. Dauphin and his relatives were “dependent on each other,” and that he enjoyed being on Lake Martin in Alabama with his brother Matthew.

“We did not get to spend enough time with him and can’t believe we will never see him again this side of heaven,” the statement said.

Kareem Badawi

Kareem Badawi recently finished his first semester at the University of Alabama, where he majored in mechanical engineering. While he was home in Baton Rouge, La., for the holidays, he and his friends decided to celebrate the New Year in New Orleans.

“They say, ‘Let’s go there and have fun and let’s make this year special,’” Mr. Badawi’s father, Belal Badawi, recalled in an interview.

Mr. Badawi, 18, was social and had many friends, his father said. He was the youngest of three children and cared for his family. At the university, he joined the Sigma Chi fraternity. He told his father he wanted to go to school in Alabama because he wanted to see a different state.

“He loves people,” Mr. Badawi said.

In a statement, the university’s president, Stuart R. Bell, confirmed that Mr. Badawi was a student there.

“I grieve alongside family and friends of Kareem in their heartbreaking loss,” Mr. Bell said.

Mr. Badawi’s father said that his favorite memories with his son were from when they traveled as a family. He had been to many states, including beaches in Florida, and the family had traveled to Mexico. Last year, the family took a trip to London.

“He was a lovely boy,” his father said, crying.

Nicole Perez

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Nicole Perez, 27, was a devoted mother to her 4-year-old son, Melvin, and had recently been promoted to manager at the deli where she worked before she was killed in the attack.

Emily Elliott, 25, a close friend of Ms. Perez’s since high school, described her as a vital part of their tight-knit friend group.

“We were the kind of friends you told stories about to your kids hoping they’d find the same connections in their life,” she said.

Without planning it, the friends ended up having children just months apart. Their children referred to one another as siblings.

“She was the life of every room and every place she was in,” Ms. Elliott said. “You couldn’t be angry, sad or upset if she was around.”

Ms. Perez had been thrilled about her promotion and dreamed of owning a store one day, according to Kimberly Usher-Fall, the owner of the deli.

“She was so excited about the new position,” Ms. Usher-Fall told ABC News.

The sudden loss of Ms. Perez has devastated her family. Ms. Perez’s mother and sister were hospitalized for stress, Ms. Usher-Fall said.

Matthew Tenedorio

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Matthew Tenedorio, 25, was known in his large extended family for his infectious laugh, easy manner and the love he lavished on his German shepherd, Brutus.

Not many knew that he also had a beautiful singing voice: “Just a secret that I was proud of, that I held in my heart,” his mother, Cathy Tenedorio, said in an interview.

Mr. Tenedorio had eaten dinner with his mother, father and one of his brothers in Slidell, La., just outside of New Orleans, before heading into New Orleans with friends, Ms. Tenedorio said.

Mr. Tenedorio was an audiovisual technician who worked as a contractor for the Superdome in New Orleans. He grew up in Slidell with two older brothers and a group of cousins who lived nearby. One cousin, Zack Colgan, 29, recalled endless hours spent playing with Nerf weapons, many minor injuries and getting in trouble for staying up late playing video games and overfilling the Tenedorios’ pool.

But as much as Mr. Tenedorio would roughhouse and joke around, Mr. Colgan said, he “would give the shirt off his back for you.” And when he told stories, Mr. Colgan said, he held everyone’s attention.

At the family’s boisterous parties, Mr. Colgan said, “Matthew stole the show.”

Mr. Tenedorio’s friends were separated from him in the chaos of the attack, the friends told his mother. They had seen people being shot. On Wednesday afternoon, a morgue confirmed Mr. Tenedorio’s death.

Ni’Kyra Cheyenne Dedeaux

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Ni’Kyra Cheyenne Dedeaux’s family in Gulfport, Miss., learned on Wednesday that the 18-year-old had been celebrating New Year’s Eve in New Orleans with her cousin and was among those killed in the attack on Bourbon Street.

“We didn’t know she was over there, because I would’ve discouraged it, especially during times when it’s the holidays,” said Jennifer Smith, Ms. Dedeaux’s grandmother. “None of my kids go to New Year’s parties. I’ve always had that fear.”

Dante Reed, Ms. Dedeaux’s friend since middle school, said he received a frantic call from a cousin who had been with her in New Orleans, saying that they had run when they heard gunshots and that she was nowhere to be found.

Ms. Dedeaux, known as Biscuit to her family and close friends, was looking forward to starting school at Blue Cliff College later this month, where she planned to major in nursing. She was inspired by her mother and grandmother, who were both nurses, and by working in housekeeping at a hospital.

She was very close to her family and had five siblings. She died the day after the anniversary of her grandfather’s death.

“She was a joy for the little time we had her,” Ms. Smith said. “It’s hard to believe that she’s gone.”

On the day of her high school graduation in May, her family held a party. She was given bouquets of money made by her mother. She was in her red cap and gown. Her family showed up for the ceremony in T-shirts with her face on them. Even the babies wore matching onesies for the day.

“That was the proudest moment of my life. I was so happy,” Ms. Smith said, her voice breaking. “I’m very proud of all of my grandchildren, and that one especially.”

On Wednesday, Ms. Dedeaux’s mother posted a photo on Facebook of her daughter and confirmed her death in the attack. She wrote, “When your parents say don’t go anywhere please listen to them.”

Reggie Hunter

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Reggie Hunter, 37, and his cousin, Kevin Curry, 38, decided to make a quick trip down to New Orleans from Baton Rouge, La., to ring in the new year.

Shirell Jackson, another cousin, said on Wednesday that she last heard from Mr. Hunter through a family group chat, texting wishes for a happy new year.

Around 5:30 a.m., Ms. Jackson got a phone call from University Medical Center New Orleans, and she rushed there. When she arrived, about an hour later, she discovered that Mr. Hunter, a father of two, had died from internal injuries.

“He didn’t deserve this,” Ms. Jackson said.

Courtney Hunter, 33, Mr. Hunter’s younger sister, said that he loved to be around family and enjoyed their gatherings, and that he was especially competitive when it came to playing games.

Ms. Jackson said Mr. Hunter, who worked as a manager at a warehouse, had a great sense of humor that sometimes came with a touch of sarcasm. He was known for dressing up, she said, and New Year’s Eve was no exception; he sported a pair of black-and-white Nike Jordans and a black polo shirt.

“Always wanted to look very nice,” she said.

Mr. Curry was also injured in the attack and will need surgery to repair a broken femur.

Tiger Bech

Tiger Bech, a former football player at Princeton University, was also killed in the attack, the university said in a statement.

St. Thomas More Catholic High School in Lafayette, La., where Mr. Bech, 27, played football, lacrosse and track and field before his graduation in 2015, hosted a rosary prayer service for the Bech family on Wednesday evening.

“Love you always brother!” said Jack Bech, Mr. Bech’s brother and a football player at Texas Christian University, captioning a social media post sharing the news of his death. “You inspired me everyday now you get to be with me in every moment. I got this family T, don’t worry. This is for us.”

Matthew Mpoke Bigg contributed reporting and Kirsten Noyes contributed research.

Jan. 1, 2025, 7:06 p.m. ET

Emily Cochrane

Reporting on the South

Biden says that he was briefed by the F.B.I. that the driver posted videos on social media “mere hours” before the attack “indicating that he was inspired by ISIS.”

Jan. 1, 2025, 7:05 p.m. ET

Aishvarya Kavi

Reporting from Camp David

The president has finished speaking after about five minutes. He did not take questions from the press.

Jan. 1, 2025, 7:00 p.m. ET

Aishvarya Kavi

Reporting from Camp David

“To all the people in New Orleans who are grieving, I grieve with you,” President Biden said, calling it a heinous attack. “Our nation grieves with you.”

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Jan. 1, 2025, 7:02 p.m. ET

Aishvarya Kavi

Reporting from Camp David

The man who carried out the attack was inspired by ISIS and “a desire to kill,” Biden said. But he called the situation fluid and said they have little new information to share.

Jan. 1, 2025, 7:05 p.m. ET

Aishvarya Kavi

Reporting from Camp David

“I’m directing my team to make sure every resource — every resource is made available,” Biden said. “We will support the people of New Orleans as they begin the hard work of healing.”

Jan. 1, 2025, 6:59 p.m. ET

Aishvarya Kavi

Reporting from Camp David

President Biden is walking out to the podium at Camp David to speak about the attack in New Orleans.

Jan. 1, 2025, 6:47 p.m. ET

Dave Philipps

Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar served in the Army from 2007 to 2015 and deployed to Afghanistan, then served in the Army Reserve until 2020, according to an Army release, leaving with the rank of staff sergeant. According to the Army, he worked in information technology and human resources. The Army awarded him a number of medals for good conduct and achievement, as well as for completing parachute jump school.

New Orleans Attacker Was ‘Inspired’ by ISIS, Biden Says (27)

Jan. 1, 2025, 6:39 p.m. ET

Maria Jimenez Moya

Reporting from Houston

Abdur Jabbar, 24, of Beaumont, Texas, said he was a brother of the man identified as the New Orleans attacker, whom he described as “a sweetheart really, a nice guy, a friend, really smart, caring.” His brother converted to Islam at a young age, Jabbar said, “but what he did does not represent Islam. This is more some type of radicalization, not religion.”

New Orleans Attacker Was ‘Inspired’ by ISIS, Biden Says (28)

Jan. 1, 2025, 6:19 p.m. ET

Shannon Sims

Reporting from Houston

Chris Pousson, a retired Air Force veteran who was friends with Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, the suspect in the New Orleans attack, in middle school and high school in Texas, said that Jabbar “wasn’t a troublemaker at all. He made good grades and was always well-dressed in button-ups and polo shirts.”

New Orleans Attacker Was ‘Inspired’ by ISIS, Biden Says (29)

Jan. 1, 2025, 6:21 p.m. ET

Shannon Sims

Reporting from Houston

Pousson said they reconnected on Facebook around 2017 when Jabbar got out of the military, and he noticed a dramatic change. “He was never threatening any violence, but you could see that he had gotten really passionate about his faith.”

Jan. 1, 2025, 5:58 p.m. ET

Devlin Barrett

The attack was the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a year.

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The terrorist attack in New Orleans that killed 15 people on Bourbon Street and injured dozens more is the deadliest act of mass murder in the United States in more than a year.

Less than a month ago, New York State authorities charged Luigi Mangione with an act of terrorism in the killing of a health care executive in a brazen shooting on a Midtown Manhattan sidewalk, saying a terrorism charge was justified because Mr. Mangione intended to sow fear in a civilian population.

Two years ago, a Maine man, Trevor Bickford, used a machete to try to kill several New York Police Department officers on New Year’s Eve in Times Square. Authorities said his attack was inspired by foreign Islamic terrorist figures, and he later pleaded guilty.

Earlier in 2022, a young man opened fire in a supermarket in Buffalo, killing 10 people. Federal authorities charged him with hate crime murders against Black people and are seeking the death penalty.

In October 2023, a 40-year-old man with mental health problems killed 18 people in Maine, many of them at a bowling alley.

More recently, federal authorities this year charged an Afghan citizen in Oklahoma with plotting an Election Day suicide attack. His plans were thwarted by F.B.I. agents.

The F.B.I. regularly disrupts nascent suspected terrorist plots it has been surveilling for weeks, months or years.

Jan. 1, 2025, 5:47 p.m. ET

Hank Sanders

Dr. Dwight McKenna, the New Orleans coroner, confirmed that at least 15 people had died. “We’re still investigating, the number could go up,” Dr. McKenna said in a phone call on Wednesday evening.

Jan. 1, 2025, 5:26 p.m. ET

Billy Witz

Reporting on sports

The Sugar Bowl game between Georgia and Notre Dame has been rescheduled for Thursday afternoon. Kickoff is at 3 p.m. local time. ESPN, which has the broadcast rights to the game, was involved in the decision.

Jan. 1, 2025, 5:15 p.m. ET

Maggie Haberman

Trump falsely suggested the New Orleans suspect was an immigrant.

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Follow the latest updates on the New Orleans attack.

On Wednesday morning, hours after a man drove a pickup truck into New Year’s Eve revelers in New Orleans, killing 10 people, President-elect Donald J. Trump falsely suggested on social media that his condemnations of undocumented immigrants had been validated.

“When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats and the Fake News Media, but it turned out to be true,” Mr. Trump said on his website, Truth Social. “The crime rate in our country is at a level that nobody has ever seen before,” he added falsely. “Our hearts are with all of the innocent victims and their loved ones, including the brave officers of the New Orleans Police Department.”

Mr. Trump, who will be sworn in on Jan. 20, added in his post, “The Trump Administration will fully support the City of New Orleans as they investigate and recover from this act of pure evil!”

Some early reports about the attack said the truck was driven across the border from Mexico into the United States. Officials have since identified the suspect as a U.S.-born citizen and Army veteran who lived in Texas, Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar.

He drove what appeared to be a rented truck that carried an Islamic State flag, officials said. He died after exchanging gunfire with authorities.

Mr. Trump made concerns about undocumented immigrants crossing the border central to his 2024 campaign, and has promised the largest mass deportation effort in U.S. history once he takes office.

A Trump transition spokesman did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment after the suspect’s history was made public.

Federal officials said they were investigating whether anyone else was connected to the attack and were running down leads about the suspect’s associates.

Jan. 1, 2025, 5:05 p.m. ET

Emily Cochrane

‘We did indeed have a plan, but the terrorist defeated it’: The attacker evaded a security system under repair.

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The Texas man who rammed into crowds in New Orleans in the early hours of New Year’s Day drove onto a sidewalk and around a patrol car that had been parked to block road access to Bourbon Street.

Officials confirmed during a news conference on Wednesday afternoon that security bollards designed to prevent vehicles from hitting pedestrians were not in place at the site because they were being replaced as part of the city’s preparations to host the Super Bowl next month.

Until new bollards could be installed, parked police cars and other barriers, as well as patrolling officers, were being used as safeguards.

“We did have a car there, we had barriers there, we had officers there, and they still got around,” said Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick of the New Orleans Police Department. She added, “We did indeed have a plan, but the terrorist defeated it.”

Capt. Lejon Roberts, the police commander who oversees the French Quarter as part of the city’s Eighth District, said that the police car had been “strategically placed” to prevent access to Bourbon Street, where the pickup slammed into New Years revelers, killing at least 10 people and injuring about 35.

Asked about how officials regarded the possibility of someone driving around the police car, Captain Roberts said, “It wasn’t something we expected to account for.”

As federal and state officials investigated the attack, they said part of their focus would be on how the driver was able to barrel into the crowd. Gov. Jeff Landry said, “We intend to be transparent in assessing any defects that may have existed in the system so that we can address it.”

Mr. Landry issued an order declaring a state of emergency, already drafted in anticipation of the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras celebrations next month, to unlock additional resources. And he said he had called in a military police company from the Louisiana National Guard — about 100 people — to provide law enforcement support.

Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent for the F.B.I. in New Orleans, said that officials did not believe that the driver — identified as Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, 42, of Texas — was “solely responsible” for the attack. She urged anyone who had contact with him in the prior 72 hours to reach out to law enforcement.

“We’re aggressively running down every lead, including those of his known associates,” she said.

Police officers and dogs were sweeping the streets of the French Quarter, looking for any suspicious devices. The Sugar Bowl between Notre Dame and the University of Georgia, originally scheduled for Wednesday, was postponed for 24 hours, and the police said that the venue, the Superdome, would remain under lockdown until the football game went forward on Thursday.

Mr. Landry said that he planned to attend the game, in part to demonstrate that the city and the stadium remained safe and that New Orleans would not be intimidated. Asked how he had the confidence that the game would be safe, he declared, “I’m going to be there.”

Kate Selig contributed reporting.

New Orleans Attacker Was ‘Inspired’ by ISIS, Biden Says (2025)

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