USA New Orleans attacker was an IS supporter, according to Biden
According to his own statements, the New Orleans attacker was motivated to carry out his attack by the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS).
02.01.2025, 04:45
02.01.2025, 04:46
SDA
This is clear from videos that the man posted on the internet just a few hours before the attack, said US President Joe Biden, citing investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). An IS flag was also found in the car used by the 42-year-old named Shamsud-Din J. to carry out the attack. In the images he posted on social networks, the perpetrator revealed, according to Biden, that he was "driven by the desire to kill".
Perpetrator was a US citizen
According to the FBI, 15 people were killed and dozens injured in the attack. Biden emphasized that, according to the investigators' findings to date, the perpetrator was born in the state of Texas and was a US citizen. He had served in the US Army for "many years" and had been listed as a reservist for years afterwards. The US President also confirmed the investigators' findings that possible explosive devices had been found in the pick-up 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, the investigation is also looking into whether the crime in New Orleans is connected to the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, in which one person died in the vehicle a few hours later and seven others were slightly injured. So far, there is no evidence of this, said Biden. He generally warned against jumping to conclusions. The investigators were working on a comprehensive picture and would present it in due course, Biden continued.
The police in Las Vegas have also stated that they have no evidence of a connection between the explosion outside the hotel and ISIS, as Sheriff Kevin McMahill emphasized at a press conference. One parallel, however, is that both vehicles were rented via the same brokerage website.
Crime hit revelers in popular nightlife district
In New Orleans, a few hours after midnight on New Year's morning, a pick-up truck plowed through a crowd of partying passers-by in the popular French Quarter nightlife district. According to the police, in addition to the numerous fatalities, 35 people were injured - although the number of fatalities could still rise according to the coroner. According to investigators, the perpetrator exchanged gunfire with police officers after driving off. Two of them were injured, but in a stable condition. The perpetrator died in the skirmish.
At midday (local time), the FBI then published initial details on the possible background to the attack. They mentioned the IS flag, the possible explosive devices and the investigation into links with the terrorist organization, which has already claimed several attacks with vehicles in various countries in recent years. It is currently being investigated whether the explosive devices could really have been detonated.
It is still unclear whether the perpetrator had accomplices. In the meantime, according to US media reports, investigators had examined a surveillance video showing a suspicious group of four people. It was initially suspected that they may have planted explosive devices in the affected neighborhood. 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 our hearts go out to the people of New Orleans after this despicable act in the early hours of this morning," said Biden in the evening (local time) at his country residence in Camp David. His thoughts and those of the entire country are with the families and victims. "We stand with you as you grieve and heal in the weeks ahead."
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz also reacted with dismay to the attack. "This is terrible news reaching us from New Orleans: People celebrating happily are torn from their lives or injured by senseless hatred," Scholz wrote on Platform X. "We mourn with the families and friends of the victims and wish all those injured a speedy recovery."
