By Miriam Raftery
Photo, left: surveillance footage from New Orleans terror attack
January 3, 2025 (San Diego) – A U.S. military veteran drove a rented electric pickup truck into a crowd of New Year’s Day revelers in New Orleans shortly after 3 a.m. on New Year’s morning, killing 14 people before he was fatally shot by police officers. Authorities found improvised explosive devices (IEDs) planted in the area; ABC news reports that an explosion to a hotel has been tied to the driver, The FBI reports that he posted videos declaring support for the terror group ISIS shortly before the attack, which the FBI confirms was an act of terrorism.
Later in the day, a U.S. Army Green Beret on leave detonated a rented Tesla filled with explosives and fireworks in front of Trump Tower in Las Vegas; his motive is not yet clear. The medical examiner confirmed that the driver shot himself before his body was burned in the explosion. Both attackers were U.S. citizens.
Tonight, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in San Diego is asking locals to be vigilant and report any threats, though the FBI and Sheriff’s department assure that there are no known threats in our region.
Local law enforcement responses
“Protecting the American people from acts of terrorism remains the FBI’s number one priority,” the FBI states in a joint press release released by multiple local law enforcement agencies. “Attacks such as the tragic event in New Orleans have a lasting impact not only on the immediate community but all Americans. The terrorism threats we face are complex and ever evolving, demanding we all work together to keep our communities safe.”
THE FBI is working with law enforcement partners to share information and disrupt any threats to our community.
The public is asked to report suspicious activities or threats to FBI San Diego at (858) 320-1800 or submit a tip to https://tips.fbi.gov/ or 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324).
San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez states, The recent tragic events in New Orleans and Las Vegas weigh heavily on our hearts. We extend our deepest sympathies to the families, loved ones and communities affected by these horrific incidents. We are grateful for the courage and heroism of the dedicated law enforcement officers and emergency personnel who responded swiftly and courageously. These acts of terror remind us of the vital role community partnerships play in keeping us all safe.”
The Sheriff is the regional coordinator for mutual aid response, working with local, state, federal and tribal partners to collaborate on training, share intelligence and harden infrastructure to keep our region safe. A new asset is a team of explosives detection K-9 dogs; others include the Sheriff’s Bomb/Arson unit working with FBI bomb technicians and other agencies. The Sheriff’s office also participates in the Joint Terrorism Task Force to proactively address emerging threats.
District Attorney Summer Stephan emphasizes, “Keeping San Diego County safe from international or domestic terrorism and other threats of violence is a daily priority working collaboratively with all our law enforcement partners in a coordinated and effective manner. We also rely on the community to be the eyes and ears to any potential threat. Several destructive threats have been neutralized due to the prompt reporting by a student, parent or community member of suspicious activity including words that threaten harm.”
The aftermath of the 9/11 attacks by terrorists resulted in creation of the National Fusion Center Network to strengthen national security by effectively sharing information between various law enforcement organizations. The San Diego Law Enforcement Coordination Center (SD-LECC) is an all crimes, all hazards fusion that also serves as the Regional Threat Assessment Center (RTAC) for San Diego and Imperial Counties and is part of the California State Threat Assessment System (STAS).
Details on the New Orleans and Las Vegas attacks
The driver who plowed into a crowd of revelers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans has been identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, an army veteran who served in Afghanistan before his discharge in 2015. He most recently has worked in real estate in Houston. A recent convert to Islam, he carried an ISIS flag in the rental truck and posted five pro-ISIS videos while driving from Houston to New Orleans, citing a “war between the believers and the disbelievers,” according to the FBI.
He swerved around barriers before ramming the crowd, then got out of the car, wearing body armor, and began shooting at police officers before he was shot and killed by law enforcement officers, according to the New Orleans Police department.
The FBI has reviewed his phone and computer. “"At this point, currently, and this is another fact I want to be clear on, we do not assess at this point that anyone else is involved in this attack except Shamsud-Din Jabbar," deputy assistant director of the FBI's counterintelligence division Christopher Raia said in a news conference on Thursday, CBS news reports.
Surveillance video showed Jabbar placing IEDs at the scene and in the French Quarter. Authorities found two active devices described as pipe bombs containing nails, screws and tacks in coolers. President Joe Biden says the FBI advised him that a remote detonator was found in the vehicle.
An FBI poster seeks information about the deadly attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on New Year's Day.
Raia has said there is currently “no definitive link between the attack here in New Orleans and the one in Las Vegas," despite some similarities. Both attackers rented electric vehicles through Turo. Both attackers were U.S.-born citizens with military experience, including service in Afghanistan and at Fort Bragg (now Fort Liberty), North Carolina, though no direct connection between the two men has been found, CBS News reports.
Photo, left: Tesla truck explodes outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas; source: CCTV
The Las Vegas attacker has been identified as Matthew Livelsberger, 37, an Army Green Beret, trained in special forces to work in counter-terrorism. He was awarded five Bronze Stars including one for courage under fire, as well as an Army Commendation Medal.
He rented the electric Tesla truck in Colorado; charging station photos en route show he was alone in the vehicle. According to the Associated Press, he likely intended a more damaging explosion, but the steel-sided vehicle absorbed much of the force of explosion from firework mortars and camp fuel cannisters packed into the truck. The explosion injured several bystanders but did no damage to the Trump International Hotel just a few feet away. Livelsberger’s charred body has been positively identified via tattoos and he had several forms of ID in the truck.
His motive is not yet known, though tipsters have reportedly told law enforcement that he had a fight with his wife over their relationship shortly before renting the truck and loading it up with explosive materials as well as guns.
Authorities have thus far not found a direct connection between the Las Vegas and New Orleans attackers, but have also not ruled out a link.
“It’s not lost on us that it’s in front of the Trump building, that it’s a Tesla vehicle, but we don’t have information at this point that definitively tells us or suggests it was because of this particular ideology,” said Spencer Evans, the Las Vegas FBI’s special agent in charge. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, is a major Trump campaign donor and has been recruited by Trump to head up a commission aimed at cutting government inefficiencies. Neither Trump nor Musk were in Las Vegas on the date of the explosion.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday afternoon on X that “we have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself.”