The death toll from the suspected attack on New Year’s Eve in the center of the American city of New Orleans has risen to fifteen. Coroner Dwight McKenna announced this early in the evening local time on Wednesday. The FBI is investigating the attack with a pickup truck on Bourbon Street in the popular French Quarter entertainment district as an “act of terror.”
According to the coroner, it will take “several days” before all victims are identified. 35 people were also injured in the suspected attack.
Perpetrator served in the American army for years
The perpetrator, identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, drove into a crowd at high speed on New Year’s Eve and was then killed in a shootout with police. According to the FBI, he lived in Texas and served in the US military for many years, including as an IT specialist.
He had an Islamic State flag and homemade explosives in his car. The FBI is looking for possible accomplices and teams with precautionary dogs are also searching further for possible explosives. “We do not believe Jabbar was solely responsible,” the FBI said.
President Joe Biden said in a speech from Camp David on Wednesday evening that the entire country is grieving with the families of the victims. According to Biden, the perpetrator was inspired by the Islamic State and had posted videos on social media “expressing the desire to kill.”