The individual responsible for the deadly New Year’s terrorist attack in New Orleans deliberately set fire to his rental property in an attempt to eliminate evidence related to bomb-making, as stated by the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms (ATF). In a joint release issued on Friday, the agencies disclosed that they suspect 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar initiated a small fire within the hallway of his rented Airbnb before the attack. They noted that Jabbar strategically positioned accelerants throughout the residence in an effort to obliterate incriminating evidence. Fortunately, the fire extinguished itself before spreading to other sections of the property.
The smoldering remnants of the fire enabled the FBI to obtain crucial evidence from the rented Airbnb, which included materials used in the manufacturing of explosives and a homemade device believed to be a rifle silencer. Law enforcement authorities confirmed that the recent incidents in Las Vegas and New Orleans are not correlated, according to police statements.
Moreover, the FBI and ATF disclosed further details about Jabbar’s actions preceding his reckless drive down Bourbon Street at high speed in the early hours of New Year’s Day. It was revealed that Jabbar had positioned two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) along Bourbon Street, though he failed to activate them before his demise.
“The FBI’s evaluation suggests that during his assault on Bourbon Street, Jabbar intended to use a transmitter discovered in the F150 truck to trigger the two IEDs placed on the street,” articulated the agencies. Subsequently, the investigators completed the evidence recovery process both on Bourbon Street and at the Mandeville Street Airbnb utilized by Jabbar.
“All evidence collected from various locations is currently under examination to advance the investigation,” the agencies elaborated. The original source of this information is attributed to the FBI, which unveiled the details regarding the arson incident at the rental property preceding the terrorist attack in New Orleans.
