The New Orleans attacker visited the city twice in the months prior to New Year’s, and used Meta smart glasses to film Bourbon Street and plan out the attack, FBI New Orleans Special Agent in Charge Lyonel Myrthil said Sunday.
The attacker, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, stayed at a rental home in New Orleans from October 30 for a few days, and during that time recorded video as he bicycled through the French Quarter, Myrthil said. He also visited New Orleans on November 10, and investigators were still putting together the details of that trip.
He was wearing a pair of Meta smart glasses while carrying out the attack on New Year’s, but he did not activate them that day. The glasses were found on him after his death.
Sunday’s news conference came days after a 42-year-old Army veteran who had pledged allegiance to ISIS drove a pickup truck into scores of Bourbon Street revelers in the early hours of New Year’s Day and then opened fire, killing 14 and injuring at least 35, according to the FBI. The vehicle ultimately crashed into a cherry picker forklift, and the Jabbar was killed in a shootout with police.
Jabbar had earlier placed two improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, on Bourbon Street, and a transmitter to detonate the IEDs was found in his vehicle, the FBI said.
Bomb-making materials were also found at a nearby Airbnb where Jabbar was staying and at his home in Houston.