Gun used in New Orleans terror attack purchased from seller in Arlington, FBI says
The 42-year-old man who killed 14 people in a terrorist attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day bought one of his guns in Arlington, the FBI said.
The killer was identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who drove a rented pickup truck into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street in the city’s French Quarter, injuring more than three dozen people, authorities have said.
A semiautomatic pistol and a semiautomatic rifle were recovered from Jabbar, the FBI said in a news conference on Sunday, Jan. 5.
Jabbar privately purchased the rifle from a seller in Arlington on Nov. 19 in a legal transaction, said Joshua Jackson, special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans office.
According to the FBI, the seller did not know Jabbar and had no knowledge that the weapon would be used in an attack.
Jabbar, a U.S. citizen and former Army soldier from Texas, was shot dead in a firefight with police officers.
The FBI also released video clips showing that Jabbar previously traveled to New Orleans in October and November. On at least one of those trips as he planned the attack, the suspect wore glasses made by Meta — the parent company of Facebook — which he used to record video in the French Quarter, the FBI said.
Jabbar also wore the glasses during the attack but did not activate them, authorities said.
This story was originally published January 6, 2025 at 3:47 PM.