Feds ‘Concerned’ About Possible Copycat ‘Vehicle Ramming’ Attempts After NOLA Terrorist Attack
The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI released a joint statement on Monday, warning of potential copycat “vehicle ramming,” such as the attack carried out by Islamic terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who killed 14 people and wounded dozens more in New Orleans on New Year’s Day.
The statement highlighted that attackers in the U.S. “and abroad” have used rented vehicles “which are easy to acquire” and warned of terrorists using weapons such as guns, knives, and explosive devices as well, The Hill reported. The DHS and FBI urged the public to stay vigilant and report any suspicious activity to law enforcement.
“The FBI and DHS are concerned about possible copycat or retaliatory attacks due to the persistent appeal of vehicle ramming as a tactic for aspiring violent extremist attackers. Previous attackers inspired by foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) who have conducted vehicle attacks in the United States and abroad have used rented, stolen, and personally owned vehicles, which are easy to acquire,” the agencies wrote. “Some have used additional weapons, such as firearms and knives, to attack individuals after the vehicle has stopped. Additionally, attackers may attempt to conceal and pre-position improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to supplement a vehicle attack.”
Recently released bodycam footage shows Jabbar — a 42-year-old Army veteran from Texas who recently pledged his allegiance to ISIS — fired upon police after crashing his truck on Bourbon Street. Just an hour before the attack, the terrorist had also placed IEDs on Bourbon Street, but the explosives were not detonated. Jabbar was shot and killed by New Orleans police officers who returned fire. Police found a transmitter to detonate the IEDs in the terrorist’s rented truck along with an ISIS flag.
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Officials are still looking into the security measures that were in place to protect people who were ringing in the New Year on Bourbon Street. Despite owning portable steel barriers that are often used to block off streets during large events, the city did not use any steel barriers to block off Bourbon Street during the New Year’s Day celebration. Jabbar accessed the bustling street by driving past a police car that was parked to block it off.
In a “60 Minutes” interview on Sunday, outgoing FBI Director Christopher Wray said that terrorists like Jabbar “radicalize not in years but in weeks,” adding that their “method of attack is still very deadly but fairly crude.”
“The investigation’s very much ongoing. But what I can say right now is that he appears to have been inspired — from afar — by ISIS. And it is, in many ways — the most challenging type of terrorist threat we face,” Wray added.
The terrorism threat is an issue that will soon face the Trump administration after the president-elect is sworn in for a second term in the White House. The New Orleans vehicle ramming attack was the deadliest terrorist attack in the U.S. since the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, in 2016.