Attack on New Year’s Eve: According to Biden, the attacker in New Orleans was an IS supporter

According to his own statements, the New Orleans attacker was persuaded to carry out his attack by the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS). This emerges from videos that the man posted online just a few hours before the crime, said US President Joe Biden, citing investigations by the Federal Police Agency (FBI). An IS flag was also found in the car in which the 42-year-old named Shamsud-Din J. carried out the attack. According to Biden, in the recordings that he posted on social networks, the perpetrator made it clear that he was driven “by the desire to kill.”

The perpetrator was a US citizen

According to the FBI, 15 people were killed and dozens injured in the attack. Biden emphasized that, according to investigators’ current findings, the perpetrator was born in the state of Texas and was a US citizen. He served in the US Army for “many years” and was listed as a reservist for years afterwards. The US President also confirmed investigators’ findings that possible explosive devices were found in the pickup truck in which the man drove into the crowd in New Orleans on New Year’s morning, as well as outside the vehicle.

According to Biden, it is also being investigated whether the crime in New Orleans is related to the explosion of a Tesla cyber truck in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, in which a person in the vehicle died a few hours later and seven others were slightly injured . So far there is no evidence of this, said Biden. He generally warned against drawing hasty conclusions. Investigators are working on a comprehensive picture and will present it in due course, Biden said.

The police in Las Vegas also say they have no evidence of a connection between the explosion in front of the hotel and IS, as Sheriff Kevin McMahill emphasized at a press conference. However, there is a parallel in that both vehicles were rented via the same brokerage website.

Tat hit revelers in a popular nightlife district

In New Orleans, a few hours after midnight on New Year’s morning, a pickup truck drove through the crowd of celebrating passers-by in the popular French Quarter nightlife district. According to the police, in addition to the numerous fatalities, there were also 35 injured people – although the number of deaths could still rise, according to the responsible medical examiner. According to investigators, the perpetrator exchanged fire with police officers after the trip. Two of them were injured but were in stable condition. The perpetrator died in the fight.

At noon (local time) the FBI published the first details about the possible background to the attack. They mentioned the IS flag, the possible explosive devices and the investigation into connections with the terrorist organization, which has claimed several vehicle attacks in various countries in recent years. It is currently being examined whether the explosives could actually have been detonated, it said.

It is still unclear whether the perpetrator had accomplices. According to US media reports, the investigators had meanwhile examined a surveillance video showing a suspicious group of four people. It was initially suspected that they might have planted explosive devices in the affected district. A short time later, however, they were reportedly ruled out as suspects.

Biden and Scholz express sympathy

Biden expressed his condolences to those affected by the terror in New Orleans. “I know that I can speak for all Americans when I say that after this despicable act in the early hours of this morning, our hearts go out to the people of New Orleans,” Biden said in the evening (local time) at his country estate in Camp David. He and the entire country’s thoughts are with the relatives and the victims. “We stand by your side as you grieve and as you heal in the coming weeks.”

Chancellor Olaf Scholz also reacted with dismay to the attack. “This is bad news that reaches us from New Orleans: People who are happily celebrating are being torn out of their lives or injured by senseless hatred,” wrote Scholz on the X platform. “We mourn with the families and friends of the victims and wish all those injured a speedy recovery Recovery.”