On the first morning of a new year, fourteen lives ended on a festive street in New Orleans, taken by a man who had spent months studying those same streets through the lens of consumer technology designed for casual memory-making. Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a former soldier who had served his country and then turned against it, used Meta smart glasses to quietly map the French Quarter before driving a truck through its celebrating crowds. The attack revealed how ordinary tools can be bent toward catastrophic purpose, and how the infrastructure meant to protect a city — bollards clogged with the debr
FBI reveals New Orleans attacker used Meta glasses to scout French Quarter before deadly truck ramming
14 people killed and at least 35 injured when Jabbar drove a truck into crowds in the French Quarter; two police officers also injured in subsequent gunfire.
He cycled slowly through the streets, filming everything the glasses could see.
Mark
So he visited twice before—October and November. What was he doing on those trips besides filming?
Mimi
The FBI says he was cycling through the French Quarter with the Meta glasses on, recording video. They're still investigating what else he did, who he saw, whether those trips to Egypt and Canada mattered.
Luke
But we don't actually know what he was planning during those visits, right? The glasses show he was filming, but the investigation into intent is ongoing.
Mark
The glasses themselves—why Meta? Why not just a phone?
Mimi
Hands-free recording. He could cycle through the streets and film without holding anything up. It's discreet. You look like you're just wearing glasses.
Luke
And he had the glasses on him during the actual attack too. But didn't use the livestream. That's a detail worth sitting with—he had the capability but didn't use it.
Mark
Why would he have brought them if not to stream?
Mimi
We don't know. Maybe he changed his mind. Maybe he wanted the recording for something else, or maybe it was just habit—he'd been using them to scout, so he wore them again.
Luke
The FBI recovered them after he was killed. So they have the footage from the glasses themselves. That's evidence they're still analyzing.
Mark
And the bombs—two devices, undetonated. If those had gone off...
Mimi
The police response was fast enough to prevent activation. But yes, the scale of what he planned was larger than what actually happened.
Luke
We should be clear: we know he placed them, we know they had receivers, we know a transmitter was in the truck. But the exact mechanism of how they were meant to be triggered—that's in the investigation.
Mark
What about the trips to Egypt and Canada? Are those connected?
Mimi
The FBI is still working on that. They don't know yet if those trips had anything to do with what he did in New Orleans.
Luke
And that's honest reporting—saying 'we don't know' instead of connecting dots that might not connect.
Der Puls
- A man cycled calmly through the French Quarter on two separate visits, his smart glasses recording the geometry of streets that would later become a killing ground.
- Fourteen people died and thirty-five were wounded when Jabbar drove into New Year's crowds; two police officers were also shot before he was killed at the scene.
- Undetonated explosive devices planted nearby added a second layer of horror — only a swift police response prevented them from being triggered.
- The bollards installed specifically to stop vehicle attacks had been jammed by Mardi Gras beads and beer, leaving Bourbon Street exposed at its most crowded moment.
- New Orleans now faces Carnival season and the Super Bowl under urgent, improvised security, with the city's mayor openly uncertain whether new barriers could stop another truck.
- The FBI is tracing Jabbar's travels to Egypt and Canada, searching for connections that might reveal whether this act of violence had roots beyond one man's radicalization.
On the first morning of a new year, fourteen lives ended on a festive street in New Orleans, taken by a man who had spent months studying those same streets through the lens of consumer technology designed for casual memory-making. Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a former soldier who had served his country and then turned against it, used Meta smart glasses to quietly map the French Quarter before driving a truck through its celebrating crowds. The attack revealed how ordinary tools can be bent toward catastrophic purpose, and how the infrastructure meant to protect a city — bollards clogged with the debris of past celebrations — can fail at the precise moment it is needed most.
On New Year's Day, a truck drove into crowds celebrating on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing fourteen people and wounding at least thirty-five. The driver was Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a forty-two-year-old former Army veteran from Texas. In the days that followed, FBI investigators pieced together a portrait of careful, methodical preparation.
Jabbar had visited New Orleans twice before the attack — in October and November — wearing Meta smart glasses to film the French Quarter while cycling through its streets. The glasses, designed for hands-free recording, allowed him to study the layout, the foot traffic, and the physical terrain without drawing obvious attention. He wore them again during the attack itself, though he did not activate the livestream function. The FBI recovered the glasses from his body and released surveillance footage showing his reconnaissance visits, with bystanders blurred in the images.
Jabbar grew up in Beaumont, Texas, in a Muslim family, had drifted from the faith, and had recently returned to it. He served in the Army in human resources and information technology roles, was deployed to Afghanistan, and was discharged in 2015. By the time of the attack, he was living in Houston. Investigators also noted travel to Egypt and Canada in the two years prior, though the significance of those trips remained unclear.
He did not act alone in his planning. Two undetonated explosive devices were found placed in the French Quarter, each fitted with a receiver; a transmitter was recovered from his truck. Quick action by police prevented them from being detonated. After the truck came to rest, Jabbar emerged wearing a ballistic vest and helmet, fired on officers, wounded two, and was shot dead. Bomb-making materials including RDX were later found at his rental home, where he had also attempted to start a fire.
The attack exposed a painful failure in the city's defenses. Steel bollards had been installed on Bourbon Street specifically to block vehicles, but by New Year's Eve they were inoperable — clogged with beads and beer from earlier Mardi Gras events. Mayor LaToya Cantrell acknowledged uncertainty about whether replacement bollards could stop a similar assault. With Carnival season beginning and the Super Bowl scheduled for February 9, New Orleans is now navigating grief and urgency simultaneously, its streets watched over by vehicles and barricades standing in for the infrastructure that failed when it mattered most.
On New Year's Day, a truck plowed through crowds celebrating in the French Quarter of New Orleans, killing fourteen people and wounding at least thirty-five others. The man behind the wheel was Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a forty-two-year-old former Army veteran from Texas. What emerged in the days after, through FBI investigation, was a portrait of methodical preparation: Jabbar had visited the city twice in the months before the attack, in October and again in November, and during those visits he had worn Meta smart glasses—the kind designed for hands-free video recording—to film the very streets where he would later drive.
The FBI disclosed these details at a press briefing, with Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia and Special Agent Lyonel Myrthil laying out the timeline and the tools. Jabbar had cycled slowly through the French Quarter while wearing the glasses, capturing footage that would help him understand the layout, the flow of foot traffic, the geometry of escape or confrontation. The glasses were recovered from him after he was killed by police at the scene. Video clips released by the agency showed him testing the device in front of a mirror, and surveillance footage captured him moving through the neighborhood, the bystanders blurred out in the released images. During the actual attack on New Year's Day, he wore the glasses again, though he did not activate the livestream function.
Jabbar's background, as it emerged, was one of fracture and return. He grew up in Beaumont, Texas, in a Muslim family, but had drifted away from the faith for years before recently coming back to it. His LinkedIn profile, now removed, showed a career in the Army spanning roles in human resources and information technology until his discharge in 2015. He had been deployed to Afghanistan from early 2009 to early 2010. By the time of the attack, he was living in Houston.
The FBI also revealed that Jabbar had traveled beyond New Orleans in the two years prior to the attack. He had gone to Egypt and Canada, though investigators said the purpose and significance of those trips remained unclear. Special Agent Myrthil stated that agents were working to establish where Jabbar had gone, who he had traveled with, and whether those journeys connected in any way to what he carried out on Bourbon Street.
When Jabbar struck on New Year's Day, he did not act alone in his planning, even if he acted alone in the moment. Federal officials recovered two undetonated explosive devices that he had placed in the French Quarter, each equipped with receivers. A transmitter was found in his truck. The quick response of New Orleans police prevented those devices from being activated, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. At the scene, after the truck came to rest, Jabbar exited wearing a ballistic vest and helmet, opened fire on officers, and wounded two before police shot him dead.
Investigators later found bomb-making materials at his rental home, including RDX, a chemical readily available in the United States. He had also attempted to set a fire at the house, though it was extinguished before firefighters arrived. All fourteen victims have now been identified, the last being Latasha Polk, a certified nursing assistant and mother of a fourteen-year-old.
The attack has forced New Orleans to reckon with its security posture as major events loom. The city had installed steel bollards in the French Quarter designed to block vehicle access to Bourbon Street, with the ability to retract for deliveries. But by New Year's Eve, those bollards were no longer in place—they had become clogged with debris from earlier Mardi Gras celebrations, beads and beer lodged in the mechanisms. Mayor LaToya Cantrell acknowledged uncertainty about whether newly installed bollards would be capable of stopping a similar attack. Police have now positioned vehicles and barricades at key intersections, and other law enforcement agencies have moved in to bolster security. The city faces the Carnival season, with the first parade scheduled for Monday evening, and the Super Bowl on February 9. President Biden is scheduled to visit to grieve with families and community members.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
Our agents are getting answers to where he went, who he went with and how those trips may or may not tie into his actions here.— FBI Special Agent Lyonel Myrthil, on Jabbar's travels to Egypt and Canada
I've been there. There's nothing you can really say to somebody that's just had such a tragic loss, my message is going to be personal if I get to get them alone.— President Joe Biden, on his planned visit to New Orleans
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