‘Witness the killing’: Suspect’s chilling words before deadly New Orleans attack
The suspected terrorist behind a deadly New Year’s attack recorded a chilling video message to his family beforehand.
The suspected terrorist who rammed a pick-up truck into a crowd in New Orleans recorded a chilling video message to his family before carrying out the deadly New Year attack.
Decorated US Army veteran Shamsud Din Jabbar is accused of ploughing his rented white Ford F-150 Lightning pick-up truck into crowds of revellers in the city’s famous French Quarter just after 3am on New Year’s Day, leaving 15 people dead and over 35 wounded.
Officials said the 42-year-old acted alone and an ISIS flag was found in the vehicle.
Before the attack – one of the deadliest since 9/11 – Jabbar filmed a video on his phone as he travelled from his trailer home outside Houston, Texas, to New Orleans, the New York Timesreports.
“I wanted to record this message for my family,” Jabbar said in the video, according to the publication.
“I wanted you to know that I joined ISIS earlier this year.”
In a chilling remark, the 42-year-old added: “I don’t want you to think I spared you willingly.”
Jabbar went on to tell his family he had previously planned to organise a “celebration” for them and would then make everyone “witness the killing of the apostates”.
CCTV and dashcam videos of Wednesday’s attack show Jabbar’s rented truck evading police barriers and speeding down narrow streets in New Orleans as revellers tried desperately to get out of the way.
Jabbar was wearing full body armour and armed with an assault rifle.
After ramming scores of people, he reportedly exited the truck and opened fire on the crowd and police.
The suspect was then gunned down by police and died at the scene.
Authorities have said they believe it was terror-related event.
Jabbar was a US-born military veteran who served in the Army for over a decade and was deployed to Afghanistan before he was honourably discharged.
Before Wednesday’s attack, Jabbar was living in a run-down trailer park on the outskirts of Houston which is home to mostly Muslim immigrants. He kept sheep and goats in the yard, according to the New York Post.
The neighbourhood is also within walking distance of the local mosque, Masjid Bilal.
Jabbar had converted to Islam, according to Dwayne Marsh, who is married to Jabbar’s ex-wife Nakedra Charrlle.
Jabbar and Ms Charrlle had two daughters, ages 15 and 20, Mr Marsh told the New York Times, adding that “the girls are a mess” after the attack.
In recent months, he said, Jabbar had been acting erratically, “being all crazy, cutting his hair” after converting.
Mr Marsh and his wife then stopped allowing the daughters to spend time with Jabbar, he said.
Prince William “shocked” by victim’s death
The stepson of Prince William and Prince Harry’s former nanny was identified as one of the 14 victims of the attack.
Edward Pettifer, 31, died from “blunt force injuries”, according to the BBC.
Pettifer’s stepmother Tiggy Pettifer cared for the royal brothers from 1993 to 1999 and supported them through the death of their mother, Princess Diana.
In a statement, Prince William said: “Catherine and I have been shocked and saddened by the tragic death of Ed Pettifer. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the Pettifer family and all those innocent people who have been tragically impacted by this horrific attack.”
According to the BBC, King Charles has contacted the Pettifer family to share his condolences.
“The entire family are devastated at the tragic news of Ed’s death in New Orleans. He was a wonderful son, brother, grandson, nephew and a friend to so many,” Pettifer’s family said in a statement.
“We will all miss him terribly. Our thoughts are with the other families who have lost their family members due to this terrible attack. We request that we can grieve the loss of Ed as a family in private. Thank you.”
Tiggy has two sons of her own: Tom, 22, who is Prince William’s godson, and Fred, 23, who is Prince Harry’s godson. Tom was also a page boy at the William and Kate’s 2011 wedding.
Among the dead was Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux, 18, who graduated high school last year and was to begin a nursing program this month, US media reported.
Reggie Hunter, a 37-year-old warehouse manager and father of two from Baton Rouge, was also killed in the attack, the New York Times reported.
The newspaper also identified Tiger Bech, a former football player at Princeton University, among those killed.
One person is yet to be identified.
Chilling details emerge
Police earlier revealed they believed Jabbar placed two ice chests in the area before the attack and found a remote detonator in his vehicle.
The FBI last week released photos of the ice chests and a well-dressed Jabbar walking through the French Quarter at 2am – just an hour before the attack took place.
“The #FBI is asking witnesses who passed him on the street or saw this blue ice chest containing an IED to contact us,” the FBI wrote on X.
On Thursday local time, US President Joe Biden said they do not believe anyone else was involved in the attack.
“They’ve established that the attacker was the same person who planted the explosives in those ice coolers in two nearby locations in the French Quarter, just a few hours before he rammed into the crowd with his vehicle,” Mr Biden said.
“They assessed he had a remote detonator in his vehicle to set off those two ice chests.”
CCTV footage from early on Wednesday, published by the BBC, shows the pick-up truck driving slowly down Canal Street, a major thoroughfare in the bustling French Quarter.
It then reaches the intersection of Bourbon Street, a narrow street lined with historic buildings filled with bars and restaurants.
A police car and temporary barricades are blocking the road.
The pick-up then mounted the footpath by a Walgreens pharmacy where the first pedestrians were hit.
After squeezing between the police car and shop, the pick-up then speeds off down Bourbon Street.
Another camera picked up the truck speeding down Bourbon Street itself.
Pedestrians can been seen on the roadway as well as the footpath of the street which was closed off to traffic.
People then start scattering as the white truck hurtles down the street.
One woman dressed in a white coat leaps onto the footpath, seemingly escaping impact by just inches.
“It was just scary, I cried my eyes out honestly,” tourist Ethan Ayersman, 20, told AFP in New Orleans.
He was among the masses visiting the colourful southern US city for New Year’s celebrations and had been on Bourbon Street into the early hours.
The Pentagon said Jabbar had served in the Army as a human resources specialist and an IT specialist from 2007 to 2015, and then in the army reserve until 2020.
He deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 until January 2010, an army spokesman said.
– With the New York Post
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