NEW ORLEANS, La. — Federal agents were still gathering evidence from the home they believe Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, rented before the deadly driving spree through Bourbon Street, killing 14 other people.
The home is on Mandeville Street in a New Orleans neighborhood. The FBI cleared the crime scene on Bourbon Street on Thursday morning and reopened the street.
“It is still ghastly. It is still unbelievable,” Ethan Ryker told Channel 2′s Courtney Francisco.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
Ryker lives at the intersection where investigators found a bomb hidden in a cooler. The FBI said surveillance video shows Jabbar plant it at Orleans and Bourbon Streets and another one a couple of blocks away around 1:30 in the morning on New Year’s Day.
On Thursday evening, the FBI released new photos of Jabbar walking on Bourbon Street just after 2 a.m. and the cooler with an IED inside that was placed at Orleans and Bourbon streets.
After plowing down Bourbon Street and killing 14 other people and injuring another 35, police say Jabbar shot two officers. The officers returned fire and killed Jabbar.
“You could feel that uneasiness. You could feel that threat, I guess you could say, of death and destruction,” said Ryker.
Bomb technicians blew up the coolers safely.
“What I heard was, ‘Fire in the hole,’ and they were blowing them up one by one,” said Ryker.
RELATED STORIES:
- Bourbon Street crash: Shamsud-Din Jabbar pledged loyalty to ISIS, planned to harm family, FBI says
- Bourbon Street crash: Who is Shamsud-Din Jabbar? Here’s what we know
- Bourbon Street crash: Law enforcement believe suspect acted alone in terror attack, sources say
- Bourbon Street crash: Who are the victims of the New Orleans terror attack?
On Thursday, the FBI held a news conference that details the timeline they believe Jabbar followed to commit the terror attack.
They believe he rented the pickup truck in Houston on Dec. 30, drove it to New Orleans on Dec. 31 and committed the attack by 3:15 a.m. on Jan. 1.
Agents said Jabbar was from Texas and joined ISIS before the summer. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army and Army Reserve.
He earned a degree at Georgia State University. Records show he lived in Cobb and DeKalb counties.
The FBI is asking anyone who saw the coolers on Bourbon St. Wednesday to call 1-800-Call-FBI. They want to talk to you as a witness.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
