Federal investigators are now saying the terrorist attack in the New Orleans French Quarter was not a coordinated event. FBI Deputy Assistant Director of Counter Terrorism Christopher Raia says 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar acted alone when he drove at a high rate of speed on Bourbon Street.
Cut 5 (12) “…been briefed on.”
Jabbar drove from Houston to New Orleans on December 30th posting videos to Social Media along the way. In one, Jabbar proclaimed his support of ISIS which he said he joined before this summer. Raia says FBI Bomb Technicians recovered two IEDs inside coolers. One at the cross-section of Bourbon and Orleans Avenue and a second one two blocks away.
Cut 7 (14) “…that were functioning.”
After the terrorist attack, authorities wasted no time in beefing up security in the French Quarter. Heavy-duty metal barricades called “Archers” have been installed along Bourbon Street sidewalks. The archer barricades are portable and can withstand vehicle impacts. They temporarily replace the bollards that are usually present but had been removed for repair prior to the attack.
Baton Rouge native Kareem Badawi was one of the victims of the Bourbon Street terrorist attack. The recent Episcopal graduate was a freshman at the University of Alabama. Episcopal Head Football Coach Travis Bourgeois coached Badawi all four years.
Cut 14 (14) “…and good times.”
Bourgeois says he watched Badawi grow up and become a man. He says he was a man of integrity on and off the football field.