A man drove a pickup truck into a dense crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans early Wednesday morning, and a Tesla Cybertruck exploded in front of a Trump hotel in Las Vegas later in the day.
New Orleans
The suspect in the New Orleans attack is 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, according to the FBI. He allegedly rammed his vehicle into the crowd around 3:15 a.m., killing 15 and injuring dozens.
The FBI explained in their statement:
After hitting the crowd, he exited the vehicle and fired upon local law enforcement. Law enforcement returned fire, and the subject was pronounced deceased at the scene. Two law enforcement officers were injured and transported to a local hospital.
The FBI said that Jabbar is a U.S. citizen from Texas, and a real estate agent.
Jabbar, a U.S. Army veteran, had an ISIS flag on the back of his rented Ford F-150 when he plowed into the crowd. The FBI is “working to determine the subject’s potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations.” Assistant special agent for the FBI in New Orleans Alethea Duncan confirmed in a news conference that two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) had been found and disposed of, according to The New York Times.
The Associated Press reported that it obtained a Louisiana State Police bulletin circulated among law enforcement. That bulletin said that surveillance footage captured three men and a woman placing one of multiple explosive devices.
Las Vegas
In Las Vegas, a Tesla truck exploded in front of a Trump hotel. (Footage of the explosion can be viewed here.) Authorities say the blast killed one and injured least seven.
Officials are looking into possible connections to the incident in New Orleans. The New York Times reported:
Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said during a news conference that the authorities believe this to be an isolated incident, but have not yet ruled out a connection.
