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(NEW ORLEANS, LA) — The suspect in a deadly attack on New Year’s revelers in New Orleans has been identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen from Texas, according to the FBI.

At least 10 people were killed and dozens injured after a man drove a Ford pickup truck through a crowd on Bourbon Street at a high rate of speed early Wednesday, authorities said.

Authorities are working to determine whether the deceased suspect had any affiliation with terrorist organizations after an ISIS flag was located in the vehicle, the FBI said.

After barreling through the crowd over a three-block stretch, the suspect allegedly got out of the truck wielding an assault rifle and opened fire on police officers, law enforcement officials briefed on the incident told ABC News. Officers returned fire, killing the suspect, police said. At least two police officers were shot and wounded, authorities said.

“This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could,” New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick said at a press briefing on Wednesday. “It was not a DUI situation. This is more complex and more serious.”

She said the driver was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did.”

Weapons and a “potential IED” were located in the subject’s vehicle, according to the FBI, which is leading the investigation.

“Other potential IEDs were also located in the French Quarter,” the FBI said in a statement. “The FBI’s Special Agent Bomb Technicians are working with our law enforcement partners to determine if any of these devices are viable and they will work to render those devices safe.”

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell described the horrific incident as a “terrorist attack” and the FBI said it was being investigated as an act of terror.

Investigators are probing whether the suspect acted alone or had help from others in planning and executing the attack, Jason Williams, the district attorney of Orleans Parish, which includes New Orleans, told ABC News.

The truck used in the attack appeared to be a Ford F-150 Lightning, an electric vehicle. It appears the truck was rented through the Turo app — a carsharing company, according to Rodrigo Diaz, the owner of the truck.

Diaz told ABC News he rented the truck to an individual through the app and is currently talking to the FBI. He declined further comment.

Diaz’s wife, Dora Diaz, told ABC News that she and her husband are devastated by the incident.

“My husband rents cars through the Turo app. I can’t tell you anything else. I’m here with my kids, and this is devastating,” Dora Diaz said.

ABC News has reached out to Turo.

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(NEW ORLEANS, LA) — Witnesses described scenes of carnage in the wake of a car-ramming attack early Wednesday morning on Bourbon Street in New Orleans that left at least 10 dead and dozens injured.

The suspect, who has not yet been identified, was allegedly “hell-bent” on killing as many people as possible when he steered a pickup truck around barricades and plowed into a crowd of people ringing in the New Year, according to New Orleans Superintendent of Police Anne Kirkpatrick.

One witness, Paul S., who asked ABC News to withhold his full name, said he had watched a fireworks display and went back to his hotel, going to bed around 2:00 a.m. CT. A little over an hour later, he woke up to popping sounds.

“We heard a ‘pop, pop, pop, pop’ sound, followed by a sound that sounded like fireworks going off, like a big firework all at once, and it turned out that was the crash,” he said.

Paul said he peeked through the curtains to see what was occurring and saw police officers telling people in buildings to stay inside. He then went onto the balcony and started recording the aftermath of the attack.

“There’s litter all over the sidewalks, and then there were bodies laid up next to garbage cans and people rushing to give aid,” he said. “There were…these really bright lights out on Bourbon Street…and that illuminated the scene where you could look up and down a block and see it completely empty except for the bodies that were on the ground.”

“The one detail that feels the worst was a man who was in a wheelchair, who was clearly knocked out of it and on the ground in pain. It’s just right next to where the carpark ended,” Paul added.

Paul said he did not see the suspect but was able to see four bullet holes in the rear windshield of the pickup truck allegedly used in the attack.

Another witness, Jimmy Cothran, told ABC News’ Morgan Norwood he and his group ducked into a Bourbon Street nightclub when the commotion began.

Shortly after he entered the club, he said five girls ran in “frantically” and hid under chairs.

Cothran said he ran upstairs to the club’s balcony and witnessed “body after body mangled just as far as you could see. We counted 10, and at least six were instantly clearly deceased. Some were very clearly deceased, but others were yelling out. … It’s a lot to process.”

Cothran added that he saw some bodies in the street that bore tire marks.

“It looked like something out of a movie the way the bodies were mangled,” he said. “These people are never going to wake up.”

Dan McFee, another witness to the attack, had a close encounter with the suspect’s vehicle while standing on Canal Street, which intersects with Bourbon Street.

McFee said he was waiting for an Uber and saw the suspect’s pick-up truck. He heard tires “screeching” and the truck turned right onto Bourbon Street.

“It was heading directly towards me and the female friend I had with me. I basically wrapped my arms around her and threw ourselves to the right,” he told ABC News’ Diane Macedo.

McFee said he’s not sure if he was hit by the truck or by some debris but said he and his friend were flown into the air and came back down on the sidewalk.

He said he saw the truck barreling down the street, hitting other New Year’s Eve revelers and heard gunshots. He did not see the suspect inside the vehicle.

McFee added that he and his friend escaped with minor injuries.

“I believe we’re all alright. Fortunately, we had bumps and bruises and scrapes but no serious injuries,” he said.

The suspect was allegedly firing a gun as he mowed people down, law enforcement officials said. He was shot and killed by police when he got out of his vehicle with an assault rifle, the officials said.

ABC News’ Aaron Katersky and Josh Margolin contributed to this report.

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(NEW ORLEANS, LA) — At least 10 people were killed and dozens injured after a man drove a pickup truck through a crowd celebrating New Year’s in New Orleans early Wednesday. The horrific attack came after authorities expressed concerns about vehicle-ramming during large outdoor events this holiday season.

In the weeks leading up to the holidays, federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies warned police around the country that low-tech vehicle-ramming was a key area of concern and that they needed to prepare.

On Dec. 6, the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and National Counterterrorism Center issued a joint intel bulletin warning law enforcement about the ongoing serious threat posed by lone offenders during the winter holiday season.

The bulletin noted that threat actors have “plotted and conducted attacks against holiday targets” in previous years, with likely targets including public places with “perceived lower levels of security” holding large gatherings or holiday events, and advised governments and law enforcement to “remain vigilant of these threats.”

“Lone offenders have historically used simple tactics, such as edged weapons, firearms, or vehicle ramming, due to their ease of access, ability to inflict mass casualties, and lack of required training,” the bulletin stated.

It cited a November 2021 vehicle-ramming attack that killed six people during a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, among recent incidents during the winter holiday.

In a Dec. 9 assessment for the Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration, federal and local agencies wrote that they “remain concerned about the use of vehicle ramming against high-profile outdoor events.”

“Vehicle ramming has become a recurring tactic employed by threat actors in the West, marked by a continued interest by (terrorists, extremists) and lone offenders in targeting crowded pedestrian areas,” they wrote.

In a Dec. 27 New Year’s Eve advisory issued in advance of the annual Las Vegas celebrations, officials noted: “Intentional mass-casualty incidents involving motor vehicles as weapons represent a growing trend in Western countries. This method has resulted in the highest casualty rates per incident within the fields of (intentional mass-casualty incidents).”

On Dec. 20, five people were killed and hundreds injured in a vehicle-ramming attack on a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg, officials said. Police believe the suspect — a doctor from Saudi Arabia who has lived in Germany since 2006 — acted alone.

The motive was preliminarily believed to be linked to “dissatisfaction with the treatment of refugees from Saudi Arabia and how they’ve been treated in Germany,” the local prosecutor said.

A motive in the New Orleans incident remains under investigation. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell described it as a “terrorist attack” and the FBI said it was being investigated as an act of terror.

The suspect was killed after opening fire on law enforcement officers, sources said. Explosive devices discovered in and around the scene on Bourbon Street were apparently found to be viable, multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News.

Investigators are working to determine whether the suspect entered the country recently and whether he had a connection to ISIS, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

Officials are also probing whether the suspect acted alone or had help from others in planning and executing the attack, Jason Williams, the district attorney of Orleans Parrish, which includes New Orleans, told ABC News. An investigation is underway on whether barricades along Bourbon Street were still up at the time of the attack, he said.

Coming out of the pandemic, law enforcement and intelligence leaders have been sounding alarms about the threat environment and dangers the public is facing from unknown assailants looking to attack large public events.

The New Orleans attack marks the third year in a row that New Year’s events in the U.S. have been marred by violence.

In 2022, a man prosecutors said intended to carry out a jihadist attack with a machete-style knife injured police officers at an access point near the Times Square event in New York City.

In 2023, an SUV loaded with gas cans crashed in front of a theater in Rochester, New York, where a New Year’s concert was being let out. Three people were killed, in addition to the driver of the SUV.

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(SMITHFIELD, VA)– A Virginia man allegedly had a cache of weapons, a “go box” and used a photo of President Joe Biden for target practice, according to court documents filed by federal prosecutors this week.

Brad Spafford was charged earlier in the month on a gun violation, but in a detention memo filed on Monday, prosecutors in Virginia outlined something allegedly more alarming.

When FBI agents raided Spafford’s home, they allegedly found 150 IEDs which were assessed by authorities as pipe bombs, with some marked “lethal,” a “go-bag” in the event something happened, and more pipe bombs in his room “unsecured.”

The court documents point out that Spafford had his two young children living in the house with him.

The government also found a jar with potentially explosive material kept in the fridge labeled “do not touch,” documents said.

Spafford came on the government’s radar in 2023 when a confidential source told investigators that he blew off parts of his hand while allegedly making a homemade IED in 2021, according to court documents.

The detention memo was filed to prevent Spafford from being released pending trial, which was granted, according to court records.

The Justice Department also found that he allegedly supported political assassinations.

“The defendant has used pictures of the President for target practice, expressed support for political assassinations, and recently sought qualifications in sniper-rifle shooting at a local range,” prosecutors wrote. “His release poses an extreme danger to those he lives with, the general community, and also the pretrial officers who will be tasked with periodically inspecting his residence for firearms including dangerous and unstable explosives.”

Spafford is on bond pending trial but DOJ is moving to have him locked up.

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(NEW ORLEANS, LA) — Witnesses described scenes of carnage in the wake of a car-ramming attack early Wednesday morning on Bourbon Street in New Orleans that left at least 10 dead and 30 injured.

The suspect, who has not yet been identified, was allegedly “hell-bent” on killing as many people as possible when he steered a pickup truck around barricades and plowed into a crowd of people ringing in the New Year, according to New Orleans Superintendent of Police Anne Kirkpatrick.

One witness, Paul S., who asked ABC News to withhold his full name, said he had watched a fireworks display and went back to his hotel, going to bed around 2:00 a.m. CT. A little over an hour later, he woke up to popping sounds.

“We heard a ‘pop, pop, pop, pop’ sound, followed by a sound that sounded like fireworks going off, like a big firework all at once, and it turned out that was the crash,” he said.

Paul said he peeked through the curtains to see what was occurring and saw police officers telling people in buildings to stay inside. He then went onto the balcony and started recording the aftermath of the attack.

“There’s litter all over the sidewalks, and then there were bodies laid up next to garbage cans and people rushing to give aid,” he said. “There were…these really bright lights out on Bourbon Street…and that illuminated the scene where you could look up and down a block and see it completely empty except for the bodies that were on the ground.”

“The one detail that feels the worst was a man who was in a wheelchair, who was clearly knocked out of it and on the ground in pain. It’s just right next to where the carpark ended,” Paul added.

Paul said he did not see the suspect but was able to see four bullet holes in the rear windshield of the pickup truck allegedly used in the attack.

Another witness, Jimmy Cothran, told ABC News’ Morgan Norwood he and his group ducked into a Bourbon Street nightclub when the commotion began.

Shortly after he entered the club, he said five girls ran in “frantically” and hid under chairs.

Cothran said he ran upstairs to the club’s balcony and witnessed “body after body mangled just as far as you could see. We counted 10, and at least six were instantly clearly deceased. Some were very clearly deceased, but others were yelling out. … It’s a lot to process.”

Cothran added that he saw some bodies in the street that bore tire marks.

“It looked like something out of a movie the way the bodies were mangled,” he said. “These people are never going to wake up.”

The suspect was allegedly firing a gun as he mowed people down, law enforcement officials said. He was shot and killed by police when he got out of his vehicle with an assault rifle, the officials said.

ABC News’ Aaron Katersky and Josh Margolin contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(UVALDE, TEXAS) — When authorities were trying to identify the victims of the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School, many of the children could only be identified by the shoes they were wearing that day.

“How often do you take your child to school and not pay attention to what they’re wearing that day?” Kimberly Rubio, mother of victim Alexandria “Lexi” Rubio, said to ABC News.

A new exhibit titled “77 Minutes in Their Shoes” underscores this question to raise gun violence awareness while honoring the 21 victims of the Uvalde mass shooting on May 24, 2022. The exhibit, which runs Jan. 10 to Jan. 19 at the Canopy Projects Gallery in Austin, is a collaboration between Houston artist Sarah Sudhoff and Lives Robbed, a gun violence prevention non-profit created by families of the children killed in the Uvalde mass shooting.

“I thought, ‘What are children wearing when they’re gunned down in schools? And how do we bring this to the attention of Americans?’ And so that’s kind of how the idea was born,” Rubio, who is also president of Lives Robbed, said.

The “77 Minutes” in the exhibit’s name refers to how long the gunman was in the school before police confronted him and ended the massacre.

Sudhoff, a Cuban American artist whose work often merges themes of motherhood and gender with social issues like gun violence and domestic violence, told ABC News that the exhibit was partly influenced by others showcasing the clothing women wore on the night they were sexually assaulted.

However, in this exhibit, photographs of the shoes and portraits of family members with the shoes will be on display. Thirteen of the 21 families participated in the exhibit and all photographs were shot by Sudhoff.

The photographer said she chose to print the images on sheer fabric hanging from the ceiling so that the public can experience the portraits in a more direct manner.

“These portraits are on fabric, and they are thin and you can see through them and maybe you’ll see somebody else through them,” Sudhoff said.

She added, “I intentionally did not make them rigid, I did not make them hard, I wanted you to see the public through them, I wanted them to move because these families are still evolving, they’re on an endless journey, they’re on this unfortunate, heartbreaking journey, and they’re constantly moving and shifting and morphing.”

Although “77 Minutes in Their Shoes” honors the victims of the mass shooting, Rubio said creating the exhibit still posed moments that were emotionally challenging.

“The hardest part was when we took the photos at Robb Elementary featuring the three moms [Rubio, Veronica Mata, and Gloria Cazares] and our girls’ shoes,” Rubio said. “That was difficult—to be back at Robb, to think about taking them to school that morning and the shoes they were wearing, walking into that school and never walking back out.”

The exhibit’s opening weekend also includes panels tackling topics such as gun violence prevention, legislation, art activism, and grief. Arnulfo “Arnie” Reyes, who taught at Robb Elementary School and was the sole survivor of classroom 111, is speaking on a panel titled “The Classroom After Tragedy” to talk about his former students and his recovery.

“It’s always important for me to be one of the voices that supports this and speaks on behalf of the students that are no longer here … I might have a little bit more of an impact just because I was there,” Reyes said to ABC News.

Reyes said he tries to spread awareness and support the families of the victims every opportunity he gets, and he hopes that by participating in the exhibit, that he can continue to advocate for his students and inspire change.

“I would like for people to come with an open mind to see the shoes, to see this is all they have left,” Reyes said. “Something that I said from the beginning is that I would try to do anything that I can do to not let these babies die in vain, and I hope that people join me in that journey to not let anybody else die in vain and to change things.”

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