BREAKING: Police Search For Additional Suspects After New Orleans Attack

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry declared a state of emergency and revealed that federal and state law enforcement officers are currently hunting for additional suspects who could have been involved in Thursday’s terrorist attack.

While speaking at a press conference shortly after 2 p.m. local time, Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) told reporters that police are searching for additional suspects and combing the area for threats. “But right now, they’re in the process of trying to catch the other bad guys. And I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt for a while,” Kennedy said.

Landry confirmed that additional suspects could very well have been involved in the attack. “But anything that would lead to impeding or endangering this investigation is not going to be said. And we will, as information unfolds, this is a very fluid, fluid process,” he said.” And remember something, too. We’re doing two things. We’re hunting some bad people down and we’re securing the city too,” the governor continued, adding that authorities are scrambling to beef up security ahead of the Sugar Bowl at the Superdome.

Alethea Duncan, an assistant special with the FBI, stated that the bureau is looking at a range of suspects who could have been involved in the attack. “We don’t want to rule anything out,” she said during the press conference.

Police have identified Shamsud Din Jabbar, 42, as the man who intentionally ran down New Years celebrants with a white pickup truck along the famed Bourbon Street. The attacker eventually crashed into a crane before exiting the vehicle and opening fire on police. Din Jabbar was killed in the ensuing shootout.

As of this report, authorities have confirmed that at least 10 people were killed, while 35 others were injured as a result of the attack. Police also recovered an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) flag in the attacker’s truck, which crossed the U.S.-Mexico border just two days ago.

Investigators are also working to determine whether Din Jabbar fired at passersby with a long gun while carrying out the attack.

Elsewhere in the city, investigators uncovered at least two improvised explosive devices, one of which was discovered near the French Quarter’s historic cathedral. The devices were detonated without incident as law enforcement scours the city and surrounding area for additional threats. Potential explosive devices were also found inside the deceased attacker’s truck.

At 6 am in New Orleans officers found an explosive device near the Cathedral in the French Quarter. They discovered two devices and safety detonated both. Thank God. pic.twitter.com/aG7HTCmNgD

— Raymond Arroyo (@RaymondArroyo) January 1, 2025

As of this report, investigators have swept every street inside the French Quarter in search of suspicious packages, New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick told reporters.

Bomb-sniffing dogs were also combing the area around the New Orleans Superdome, the site of the Sugar Bowl college football playoff matchup between Notre Dame and Georgia. The game, which was set to kick off at 7:30 Eastern Time, was postponed until Thursday evening. Governor Landry is confident the game will be played and stated that he will be in attendance.

When asked how the suspect was able to access the area, Kirkpatrick stated that vehicular barriers were set up, though Din Jabbar was able to evade them. “We had barriers there. We had officers there, and they still got around,” she said. “We did indeed have a plan, but the terrorist defeated it.”

In addition, firefighters responded to reports of a fire at a property in the city’s St. Roch section on Wednesday morning. Dozens of people were evacuated and bomb squads were dispatched, as the property was recently rented out to Din Jabbar.

UPDATE: Manhunt Underway For Four People Suspected Of Planting Bombs In New Orleans