Massacre on New Year’s Eve: The attack in New Orleans – What we know and what we don’t

A man drives a pickup truck into a celebrating crowd in a busy New Orleans neighborhood on New Year’s morning. 15 people die, the perpetrator is shot by police. There is great horror at the attack – not just in the USA.

Investigators have confirmed 15 deaths and 35 injuries so far. The fatal drive through the crowd began a few hours after the New Year, around 3:15 a.m. local time, in the popular French Quarter nightlife district. According to investigators, the perpetrator drove at very high speed. The police spoke of “very deliberate behavior” on the part of the driver. After driving, according to authorities, the perpetrator shot at police officers and then died in an exchange of fire with the officers. Two police officers were injured in the hospital, but are in stable condition. According to the FBI The perpetrator was a 42-year-old US citizen named Shamsud-Din J who was born in Texas. He served in the US Army and was then kept as a reservist for years. The US authorities assume one targeted terrorist attack. A flag of the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS) was found in the perpetrator’s car. According to US President Joe Biden, he was inspired by IS and identified himself in videos posted shortly before the crime as a supporter of the terrorist militia who was driven “by the desire to kill.” According to the FBI, there were weapons in the vehicle. In addition, possible explosive devices were discovered in the pickup truck and outside the car. The police are looking for possible accomplices: They do not believe that J. “was solely responsible,” said FBI investigator Alethea Duncan. According to the FBI, the murder vehicle was a privately rented car through the Turo brokerage service.

The exact condition of the many injured people is unclear. It is still unclear whether the possible explosive devices could have been detonated. Was the attack planned well in advance and did the assassin have helpers, for example when planting explosive devices? What exactly did the perpetrator do in the videos given by himself, the evaluation of which Biden is relying on? The street in question is busy and had bollards to protect passers-by – how could the pick-up truck get past it? It has not yet been clarified whether there is a connection with the Tesla cybertruck explosion that occurred on Wednesday outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas and claimed the life of a yet unidentified person. According to police, the Cybertruck was rented through the same provider as the vehicle in New Orleans.