US authorities said the attacker from New Orleans had traveled to Egypt, Canada | Crime news

The U.S. Army veteran also visited the city twice in the months leading up to the truck attack, law enforcement officials said.

Authorities in the United States are investigating the potential significance of overseas trips made by the man responsible for driving a truck into New Orleans New Year's Eve celebrations, law enforcement officials said.

Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a US Army veteran who announced his support for ISIS in videos posted online before the attack, visited Egypt and Canada in the summer of 2023, an FBI official said Sunday.

“Our agents are getting answers to where he went, who he met with, how those trips may or may not relate to his actions in our city,” Lionel Myrtle, special agent in charge of the bureau's New York field office, told reporters. Orleans.

Jabbar also made at least two trips to New Orleans, in October and November, officials said.

On his first visit, he cycled through the city's French Quarter, where the attack took place, while recording the scene with Meta smart glasses, according to police.

Myrtil said Jabbar was wearing the glasses but did not turn them on when he carried out the New Year's Day attack that killed 14 people and injured 35 others.

FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raya said all evidence indicated that Jabbar, a US citizen, acted alone in carrying out the attack, although investigators were looking into his contacts inside and outside the US.

“We have not seen any indication of an accomplice in the United States, but we are still looking for potential associates in the US and beyond our borders,” Raya told reporters.

According to authorities, Jabbar drove a rented pickup truck around a barrier and down the famous Bourbon Street before being shot by responding officers.

US President Joe Biden will visit New Orleans with First Lady Jill Biden on Monday to pay tribute to the victims of the attack.