Revelry to terror: How the deadly New Orleans truck attack unfolded
At least 14 people were killed and more than 30 injured after an armed man intentionally drove a pickup truck into New Year’s revelers in New Orleans and began shooting at people before being killed by police early Wednesday.
The driver, who was killed by police, has been identified as Shamsud Din Jabbar, 42, of Houston, Texas, a U.S. citizen and Army veteran, USA TODAY reported.
Vehicle attacks: More vehicles are being used in terror assaults.
The FBI is investigating the attack as an act of terrorism and believes Jabbar acted alone.
In Texas, the FBI and the Harris County Sheriff's Office are searching an area near the suspect's home for a possible link to the New Orleans attack.
Where did the New Orleans attack take place?
The attack began at 3:15 a.m. local time. A driver in a white pickup moving at high speed entered Bourbon Street in the city’s historic French Quarter, and began striking people along a three-block stretch on the street.
After ramming the crowd, the driver left the vehicle, identified as a rented electric Ford F-150, with an assault rifle and began firing, according to ABC News. Three police officers returned fire and killed the driver.
"Perpetrator was shot by NOPD officers and killed," said Karen Boudrie, public relations specialist with New Orleans police, USA TODAY reported.
Two of the officers were injured by gunfire and were hospitalized in stable condition.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell told reporters that the driver "was hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did. ... This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could. It was not a DUI situation."
Authorities neutralized and removed two potentially improvised explosive devices in the area, and are searching for more in the French Quarter, said Alethea Duncan, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's New Orleans office.
Police cordoned off an eight-block section of Bourbon Street from Canal to St. Ann streets as part of their investigation.
Driver was Army veteran who served in Afghanistan
According to military records, the driver joined the U.S. Army in 2007 and was deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 until January 2015, USA TODAY reported. He worked was a human resource specialist, a job whose duties included payroll, mail delivery and processing medals.
He became an information technology specialist, a common transition in the Army, USA TODAY said, citing a government official speaking on condition of anonymity. As an IT specialist, he would have been a trained as a computer-system troubleshooter.
An Islamic flag was hanging from the truck trailer's hitch, Duncan said. The driver was wearing full military gear, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune/Advocate.
This story was updated with new information.
CONTRIBUTING Darren Samuelson, Bart Jansen, Claire Thornton, Mike James, Trevor Hughes, Tom Vanden Brook, Mike Snider, USA TODAY
SOURCE USA TODAY Network reporting and research; Reuters