Special Agent in Charge Lyonel Myrthil, New Orleans Field Office

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Thank you, Chris. I want to thank you and the hundreds of other FBI personnel and our partners with local, state, and federal agencies who have been working tirelessly beside us.  
 
FBI New Orleans deeply mourns the loss of those who tragically lost their lives, extends our heartfelt prayers to those who were injured, and offers our unwavering support to those who endured the traumatic experience of witnessing such a devastating act of terror. 
 
Today, we want to focus on filling in some of the gaps and giving you a greater understanding of the planning that went into this horrible attack by Shamsud-Din Jabbar. 
 
We are also sharing videos today showing Jabbar placing the IEDs on Bourbon Street and videos he took himself as he plotted this hideous act. 
 
Thanks to information provided by the public, this investigation is crossing state and international borders as our agents follow leads in Houston, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; Tampa, Florida; and internationally.

FBI Houston has recovered evidence at his home there and the work now shifts to our specialists at the FBI laboratories. Interviews are being conducted with hundreds who have been identified as knowing key pieces of this complex, evolving case. 
 
We have also tracked that Jabbar traveled to Cairo Egypt from June 22 until July 3 of 2023. A few days later, he flew to Ontario Canada on July 10 and returned to the U.S. July 13. Our agents are getting answers as to where he went, who he met with, and how those trips may or may not tie into his actions here in New Orleans. 
 
We’ve also discovered Jabbar made at least two trips to New Orleans in the months prior to the attacks: one in October and the other a month later in November. 
 
From what we know now, Jabbar stayed at a rental home in New Orleans beginning October 30, 2024. He was in town at least two days. During that time Jabbar, using Meta glasses, recorded video as he rode through the French Quarter on a bicycle.  
 

Jabbar then stopped at a business in Texas where he purchased one of the ice chests he would later use to hide an IED. 

Jabbar is estimated to have entered Louisiana on December 31 at approximately 2:30 p.m. 
 
His rented vehicle was seen again in Gonzales, Louisiana around 9 p.m. on the 31st.  
 
By 10:00 pm, home camera footage shows Jabbar unloading the white pickup truck in New Orleans outside of the Mandeville Street rental home. 
 
Just under three hours later, at 12:41 a.m. on New Year’s morning, Jabbar parked the truck and walked to Royal and Governor Nichols Street. 
 
Jabbar placed the first IED in the cooler at Bourbon and St. Peter Street at 1:53 a.m. Someone on Bourbon Street, who we have no reason to believe was involved, dragged it a block to Bourbon and Orleans, where our teams found it after the attack. 
 
Jabbar placed the second IED in a bucket type cooler at 2:20 a.m. on Bourbon and Toulouse Streets.  
  
In the videos, you see Jabbar wearing the long brown coat we showed you in a photo released earlier. That coat was recovered in the rented F-150. 
 
At 3:15 a.m. Jabbar used his pickup truck as a lethal weapon before crashing into the construction equipment and was stopped by NOPD.  
 
Shortly after 5 a.m. a fire was reported at the rental home on Mandeville Street and the New Orleans Fire Department found explosive devices on scene after entering the home. 
 
As we released yesterday, we strongly believe Jabbar was solely responsible for the fire on Mandeville Street. We determined that he set the fire before heading to Bourbon Street based on the ATF’s investigation. I’d like to bring up Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Field Division, Joshua Jackson, to address the details of their investigation. And to explain the origin of the IED’s and the materials Jabbar used in them. SAC Jackson? 

SAC Jackson speaks; read his remarks.

SAC Myrthil resumes.

When incidents like this happen, obviously the criminal investigation is important, but the FBI never loses sight of the devastating impact on victims and their families. Helping them navigate the unthinkable is a task that we take on with a number of local, state, and federal partners. It’s a task that started within hours of the attack. 
 
The work done by these professionals is done behind the scenes as to not retraumatize the people who did not ask to be part of this dark day in history. 
 
Today, our Victim Services Response Team and those very important partners are opening a Family Assistance Center which is a centralized location where victims and their loved ones can receive in-person information and assistance.  
 
St. Martin de Porres (PORES) Catholic Church on Elysian Fields has graciously offered space for our professionals to provide services and also return hundreds of personal items left at the scene of the attack.  
 
We started the process of returning these items within one day of the attack – knowing it is crucial to reunite these precious items to their loved ones. 
 
The Family Assistance Center or FAC will open at one o’clock this afternoon and offer services until 7 p.m. It will then begin operating Monday through Friday from 9 am until 7 pm, until we are certain we have provided everything we can to help those who need it.  
 
I want to say thank you again to the community – and to the victims and their loved ones, we cannot change what happened, but we are working tireless to determine how and why this happened here. 
 
At this time, I would like to invite Mayor Latoya Cantrell to the podium.  
 
Thank you. 
 
We want to sincerely thank the public for all of the information we have received so far and again, encourage anyone who may have interacted with Jabbar to call us at 1-800-CALL-FBI or send digital tips to fbi.gov/bourbonstreetattack. 
 
At this time, we will take questions.