In a press conference, FBI officials confirmed a gun used in the attack was purchased privately in Arlington.
NEW ORLEANS — The man who killed 14 people in the truck attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day purchased one of the weapons used in the attack in Arlington, Texas, officials said.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Beaumont, visited New Orleans twice before the attack and recorded video of the French Quarter with hands-free glasses, an FBI official said in a press conference Sunday. Jabbar was wearing those glasses during the attack on New Year’s Day, but they did not appear to be activated, police say.
A semiautomatic pistol and a semiautomatic rifle were recovered from Jabbar, officials said. The rifle was purchased privately Nov 19, 2024, in Arlington Texas, officials said.
The individual who sold the gun to Jabbar did not know him and had no awareness that the weapon would be used in an attack, according to the FBI. Private sale transactions are legal in Texas, officials said. Arlington police told WFAA they are not investigating any crimes related to the attack in New Orleans.
Jabbar traveled to Cairo, Egypt, as well as Ontario, Canada, before the attack, although it was not yet clear whether those trips were connected to the attack, Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia said at a press conference.
FBI officials also released more information about the IEDs discovered by officials in the French Quarter. Authorities found crude bombs in the neighborhood of the attack, the Associated Press reported. Two improvised explosive devices left in coolers several blocks apart were rendered safe at the scene and other devices were determined to be non-functional, according to the Associated Press. Jabbar purchased a cooler in Vidor, Texas, hours before the attack and gun oil from a store in Sulphur, Louisiana, investigators said.
President Joe Biden planned to travel to New Orleans with first lady Jill Biden on Monday to “grieve with the families and community members impacted by the tragic attack,” the Associated Press reported.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.