FBI officials on Sunday said their investigation into the deadly truck attack in New Orleans was now “crossing state and international lines” and that the attacker had traveled to Egypt and Canada.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a US citizen from Houston, traveled to Egypt and Canada before the New Year attack, though it was not yet clear whether those trips were related to the attack, Christopher Raia, the agency’s deputy assistant director, said in a press conference.
Jabbar traveled to Cairo from June 22 to July 3, 2023. A few days later, he flew to Ontario on July 10 and returned to the US on July 13.
“Our agents are getting answers to where he went, who he went with and how those trips may or may not be related to his actions here,” said Lyonel Myrthil, the FBI’s special agent in charge of the New Orleans field office. .
Authorities say Jabbar had also traveled to New Orleans before the October attack. Myrthil said the video shows him riding around the French Quarter on a bicycle wearing Meta smart glasses, which can record or stream live.
Investigators previously said Jabbar, a 42-year-old former US Army soldier, had declared his support for the Islamic State militant group in videos posted online hours before he struck on Bourbon Street early Wednesday. past, killing 14 people and injuring dozens. Police shot dead Jabbar during a gunfight at the scene.
Thirteen people remain hospitalized after the attack.
Raia reiterated Sunday that the FBI believes Jabbar acted alone.
“All of the investigative details and evidence that we have right now still supports that Jabbar acted alone here in New Orleans,” Raia said. “We have seen no indication of an associate in the United States, but we are still looking for possible associates in the US and outside our borders.”
The RCMP has not responded to previous CBC requests for comment on Jabbar’s movements in Canada and whether the police force is working with the FBI on the investigation.
US President Joe Biden planned to travel to New Orleans with his wife Jill Biden on Monday to “mourn with the families and community members affected by the tragic attack.”
