New Orleans’ New Year’s Eve car destruction started the year off with chaos, leaving people injured and some dead. Was this an act of terrorism or acting out?
On Bourbon Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter, family and friends gather to celebrate a new beginning. With security all along the road blocking off where people gather, a pickup truck comes barreling through crowds ending with 14 killed and 35 hospitalized. Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen from Texas with an ISIS, Islamic State of Iraq, and Syria flag tied to the bumper of the truck is identified to be the driver. Following the incident, he put up a fight with the police, eventually ending up dead in a shootout.
Jabbar was prepared for worse to happen, with an AR-15 in his car ready for fire and two potential improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. Surveillance cameras caught Jabbar placing them around the area of the celebration which later was taken care of and deemed safe by FBI bomb technicians.
With further investigation the FBI has found that the car Jabbar was driving was rented and he was staying at a place that caught fire on the Wednesday of New Year’s Eve. As his flag gives speculation of his enthusiastic following of ISIS, videos posted only hours before the disaster of Jabbar expressing his inspiration from ISIS and a desire to kill were found leading to the case officially being named as terrorism.
As Jabbar is not with us, charges of life in prison won’t be set, so what will they do for these poor people’s families?
A church leader at New Orleans’ St. Louis Cathedral, acknowledged the sense of unease that remains and asked for prayers for victims and their families. The Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry declared a period of mourning that began the Monday following New Year’s, with a different victim being remembered each day. Lastly, the Joan of Arc Parade, the first of the city’s Carnival season is set to take place on the Monday following New Year’s in the French Quarter, an event that an organizer said she hopes will bring a message of hope and resiliency.
Support is uncontrollable from the citizens of New Orleans. The investigation may not be able to find any more information on why Jabbar committed these acts, inspiration can be taken in any light, as Jabbar has taken that as a chance to kill but why?
Was he trying to open people’s eyes to the power within themselves, to the darkness within the system? To bring reality to the dirtiness of death, trying to push his religious beliefs on others. Or purely just trying to make a scene and be seen as a “hero”.
