FBI Returns to New Orleans Attacker's House After Leaving Evidence Behind

The FBI is back on Friday at a Harris County, Texas, house in connection with the Bourbon Street attack in New Orleans early on New Year's Day, according to KHOU.

Early on January 1, a man drove a pickup into a crowd celebrating New Year's on Bourbon Street, killing at least 15 people and injuring 30. Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, has been named the suspect. The FBI is investigating the incident as an act of terrorism. A key line of inquiry is whether the attack was orchestrated or inspired by a foreign terrorist group.

Newsweek reached out to the FBI for comment and was told they are "conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity."

Why It Matters

The FBI has been criticized for a New York Post reporter, Jennie Taer, showing up at Jabbar's house in Texas before the authorities, with Republican Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn saying they "failed." Taer posted a video of items left at the house later in the day, including various chemicals laid across workstations and religious texts, including an Arabic and English language copy of the Quran.

According to the New York Post, the Quran was open on a page which read "they fight in Allah's cause, and slay and are slain; a promise binding." Jabbar's neighbors told her he "was done with his lease, it was up, and he was on his way to New Orleans where he would live" and "didn't take any furniture because he said this new home would be furnished."

Other situations for which the FBI has been criticized included its knowledge about the shooter before the tragedy at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on September 4, the lack of evidence of collusion with a probe into Russian election interference, refusing to testify on security risks and scrubbing an agent's anti-President-elect Donald Trump social media posts before a promotion.

FBI Director Christopher Wray announced last month that he will resign before President Joe Biden's term ends.

FBI and Harris County Sheriff's SWAT members work on January 1 near Crescent Peak Drive in Houston, where a police investigation continues into a property associated with Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who has been identified as the... Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via AP, File

What To Know

The FBI in Houston did not tell KHOU more on what was found at the house in Texas, but patrol units from the Harris County Sheriff's Office were seen lining the home leading to a house on Crescent Peak Drive.

The attack in New Orleans occurred at about 4:15 a.m. in the French Quarter, one of the city's busiest areas, during New Year's celebrations. Ten of the 15 killed have been identified by their families: Reggie Hunter, Nikyra Dedeaux, Tiger Bech and Nicole Perez, Matthew Tenedorio, Kareem Badawi, Hubert Gauthreaux, Drew Dauphin, Billy DiMaio and Terrence Kennedy.

The New Orleans Police Department said the suspect opened fire on officers after the vehicle came to a stop. The suspect was driving a Ford pickup, which officials said was rented through the Turo app.

An Islamic State group (ISIS) flag, weapons and a potential improvised explosive device were found in the suspect's rented truck, the FBI said. Two additional IEDs were found on Wednesday morning. Biden, citing the FBI, said the suspect had posted videos on social media in connection with the terrorist organization ISIS "mere hours" before the attack.

The FBI was at the home in Harris County on Thursday as well. They said there were no threats to residents in the area.

The FBI said in a statement that a SWAT team as well as bomb technicians, evidence response team and a group of counterterrorism investigators were deployed to the 1200 block of Crescent Peak Drive.

The FBI released photos of surveillance footage that shows Shamsud-Din Jabbar an hour before he drove a truck down Bourbon Street, New Orleans, early on January 1, killing at least 15. Federal Bureau of Investigation via AP

Who Was Shamsud-Din Jabbar

Jabbar, a Houston resident, was allegedly staying at an Airbnb, which burned down on Wednesday, about a mile and a half from the attack scene. Sources told Fox 8 that bomb-making materials were found at the rental property.

Jabbar enlisted in the Army in 2007 and worked in human resources and information technology.

He was deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010. In 2015, he transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve, the service said in a statement. He left the military in July 2020 with the rank of staff sergeant. A former commander who oversaw Jabbar called him a "great soldier."

What People Are Saying

Tim Young, a comedian and author from Texas with 1 million followers on X, said: "The FBI literally seized a US Capitol LEGO set from a J6 defendant ...

"But they left the Quran open to a passage about martyrdom next to the bomb making station sitting in the terrorists apartment ... Sure, yeah, O.K ...."

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill told Fox New Channel's America's Newsroom: "I think we will continue to see a lot more information coming out with the deeper psychological profile on this individual."

What's Next

The FBI is the lead agency investigating the attack. Anyone with information, photos or video is asked to contact the bureau. They can contact the agency by phone at 1-800- CALL-FBI or visit www.fbi.gov/bourbonstreetattack. They can also call the FBI's New Orleans office at 504-816-3000 or email tips@fbi.gov.