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TAMPA — The FBI announced Wednesday that it found no evidence that a visit to Tampa in late October by the mastermind behind the New Year’s Day terrorist attack in New Orleans was related to “criminal intent.”
It remains unclear exactly why Shamsud Din Jabbar came to Tampa nearly nine weeks before driving a rented truck through crowds in New Orleans’ French Quarter and engaging in a deadly shootout with police. is. The attack killed 14 people.
The FBI previously said Jabbar visited locations in the “Tampa area” as well as Atlanta.
The agency issued a statement Wednesday saying officials at its Tampa field office “could not find any criminal intent” to explain why Shamsud Din Jabar came to the city.
Jabbar, 42, was in Tampa from October 26 to 28, the FBI confirmed. A former U.S. Army soldier from Houston, he had also visited the city of Atlanta. In the summer of 2023, he went to Cairo, Egypt, and a few days later to Canada.
He previously visited New Orleans in October. Video released by police shows him riding his bike through the French Quarter wearing Metaglass, which allows recording and live streaming.
Hours before the attack, Jabbar posted a video online declaring support for the Islamic State terrorist organization.
The bureau said the Joint Terrorism Task Force continues to “exhaust technical resources” trying to track his movements. The FBI has not elaborated on what is known about Mr. Jabbar’s activities.
Investigators and local law enforcement have investigated hundreds of leads since the Jan. 1 attack, officials said. Their efforts include interviewing people who encountered Jabbar and examining his financial documents to identify purchases made in Tampa.
“At this time, there is no indication that (Jabbar) had any significant contact with anyone in the Tampa area,” the FBI statement said.
In response to the attack, Tampa officials announced increased security measures for the city’s upcoming Gasparilla parade and related events. These measures include thousands of police officers monitoring the parade and support from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
