HOUSTON, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Death toll rose to 15 from the truck attack in New Orleans of the southern U.S. state of Louisiana early Wednesday, authorities said.

FBI officials said they do not believe the suspect who rammed the pickup truck into New Year's Day revelers is acting alone.

"It will take several days to perform all autopsies," New Orleans Coroner Dr. Dwight McKenna said in a statement. "Once we complete the autopsies and talk with the next of kin, we will release the identifications of the victims."

SUSPECT MAY NOT ACT ALONE

The suspect has been identified as Shamsud Din Jabbar, 42, a U.S. citizen living in Houston, the biggest city of Texas, according to the FBI. He was shot dead in a shootout with police officers.

"After the vehicle came to a stop, the suspect reportedly opened fire on responding officers, who returned fire," New Orleans Police Department said. Two police officers were shot and now are in stable condition.

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said on social media that Jabbar rented the truck on Dec. 30 in the Houston area before heading to New Orleans, the largest city in Louisiana.

The suspect had previously served in the U.S. Army. He had also worked in real estate and IT, according to court documents.

He was struggling with financial troubles in recent years, court documents showed.

FBI officials said they are investigating the incident as an act of terrorism.

"We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible," Alethea Duncan, an agent with the FBI's New Orleans field office, told a news conference. "We don't want to rule anything out."

Guns, improvised explosive devices and an Islamic State (IS) group flag were found from the vehicle, according to local media reports.

The devices were wired for remote detonation, said an AP report, adding that other potential explosive devices were also located in the French Quarter near where the incident occurred.

The AP, citing an intelligence bulletin it obtained, said surveillance footage captured three men and a woman placing one of multiple improvised explosive device in the French Quarter. But a CNN report said federal investigators now believe the four seen in video were not involved in placing these devices, citing a law enforcement official.

The truck, reportedly a Ford F-150 Lightning, was with a Texas plate and rented by the suspect through car sharing app Turo, the truck's owner Rodrigo Diaz told ABC News.

CARNAGE AND DAMAGE

The incident happened around 3:15 a.m. (0915 GMT) at the intersection of Bourbon Street and Iberville, the French Quarter, which is one of the most crowded areas of New Orleans and the heart of the city's tourism industry.

"Last night we had over 300 officers out here. And because of the intentional mindset of this perpetrator who went around our barricades in order to conduct this, he was hellbent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did," New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick told a press conference.

"It was very intentional behavior," she said. "This man was trying to run over as many people as he could."

The attack has injured more than 30 people. A student from the University of Georgia was critically injured, according to the university's president.

Two Israeli citizens were also injured, said a CNN report, citing Israel's foreign ministry.

U.S. President Joe Biden said he is "grateful for the brave and swift response of local law enforcement in preventing even greater death and injury."

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry on Wednesday announced an emergency declaration to bring together federal, state and local resources.

"The mission now is to facilitate support and coordinate safety procedures to keep our residents and our visitors safe," New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell told a news conference Wednesday afternoon, urging the public not to get close to the scene "if there is no essential need to do so."

Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley announced that the American college football game scheduled for Wednesday in nearby venue in New Orleans will be postponed to Thursday.

"The Superdome is going to be safe tomorrow night," former New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu told media.

The FBI Houston and the Harris County Sheriff's Office "are currently conducting law enforcement activity" in north Houston "related to this morning's New Orleans attack," the FBI said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.

The attack is the latest one of high-profile vehicle attacks on crowds around the world in years. The deadliest one occurred in July 2016, when a man drove a heavy truck to strike hundreds of people who were gathering to watch Bastille Day fireworks in Nice, France, leaving 84 people dead and more than 200 others injured. The IS claimed it was responsible for the attack. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)