New Orleans attack latest: Bomb-making material recovered from suspect's Houston home

Fourteen people were killed in the New Year's Day attack on Bourbon Street.

Bomb-making materials linked to the New Year's Day attack in New Orleans were recovered by FBI agents and local law enforcement Thursday at the suspect's residence in Houston, Texas, sources confirmed to ABC News.

The items found were also referred to as "precursor chemicals" by agents in the field, sources said.

The items were found when agents executed a search warrant at the last known residence for suspect Shamsud-Din Jabbar in the small community of Greenspoint, in north Houston.

Authorities no longer believe there are any other suspects involved in the New Year's truck attack that killed 14 people and injured 35 others, the FBI said Thursday.

After investigators reviewed all of the surveillance videos more closely, it appears that Jabbar -- a 42-year-old Army veteran, who also died in the attack -- placed explosive devices in the area himself and then changed clothes, multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News.

Members of the FBI and New Orleans Police work the scene on Bourbon Street after a person allegedly drove into a crowd in the early morning hours of New Year's Day on January 1, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Chris Graythen/Getty Images

The FBI is still investigating whether there were individuals Jabbar spoke to or messaged with prior to the early Wednesday attack, but no one was in the vicinity to help him do anything, the sources said.

"Federal law enforcement and the intelligence community are actively investigating any foreign or domestic contacts in connection that could possibly be relevant to the attack," President Joe Biden said Thursday.

Christopher Raia of the FBI said, who called the attack a premeditated "act of terrorism," said there is no additional threat to the public.

Law enforcement members work at the site where people were killed by a man driving a truck in an attack during New Year's celebrations, in New Orleans, Louisiana, January 2, 2025.
Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry on Thursday compared the investigation to a jigsaw puzzle.

Over 400 tips have been submitted and investigators are combing through Jabbar's laptops and phones, Raia said. More than 1,000 law enforcement officers have been "pouring over countless amounts of data, of videos, of surveillances, interviews, tracking down every possible lead," Landry said.

The FBI on Thursday released new surveillance images of Jabbar in New Orleans a little more than an hour before the attack took place.

Surveillance footage shows Shamsud-Din Jabbar, Jan. 1, 2025, in New Orleans.
FBI

The photos show Jabbar walking along Dauphine Street near Governor Nicholls Street shortly after 2 a.m., wearing a light brown long coat, jeans and brown dress shoes.

The FBI also released a photo of one of the coolers containing an explosive device that authorities said Jabbar placed near the intersection of Bourbon and Orleans Street.

One of the coolers containing an IED that exploded, Jan. 1, 2025, in New Orleans.
FBI

Jabbar drove from Houston to New Orleans on Tuesday evening and posted several videos online "proclaiming his support for ISIS," and mentioning he joined ISIS before this summer, Raia said.

Law enforcement vehicles and people stand near the area near the scene where a vehicle drove into a crowd during New Year's celebrations, in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Jan. 1, 2025.
Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

"There were five videos posted on Jabbar's Facebook account, which are time stamped beginning at 1:29 a.m. and the last at 3:02 a.m.," Raia said. "In the first video, Jabbar explains he originally planned to harm his family and friends, but was concerned the news headlines would not focus on the 'war between the believers and the disbelievers.'"

An ISIS flag was recovered from the back of the truck, Raia said.

Law enforcement officers from multiple agencies work the scene on Bourbon Street after a person allegedly drove into the crowd in the early morning hours of New Year's Day on January 1, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Michael Democker/Getty Images

The death toll is not expected to rise beyond 14 people, Dr. Jeffrey Elder of the University Medical Center New Orleans told ABC News Live on Thursday. Sixteen people remain hospitalized at University Medical Center New Orleans, including eight in intensive care.

Jabbar was "hell-bent" on killing as many people as possible, driving a pickup truck onto the sidewalk around a parked police car serving as a barricade to plow into pedestrians, officials said.

The suspect mowed down dozens of people over a three-block stretch on the world-famous thoroughfare while firing into the crowd, police said.

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry inspects Bourbon Street in the the French Quarter on January 2, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Andrew Caballero-reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Jabbar then exited the damaged vehicle armed with an assault rifle and opened fire on police officers, law enforcement said. He was also armed with a handgun, sources told ABC News.

Officers returned fire, killing Jabbar, a U.S.-born citizen from Texas, sources said. At least two officers were injured, one by gunfire and the other when the officer was pinned by the truck, authorities said.

New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said security bollards were not working at the time because they were in the process of being replaced for next month's Super Bowl.

Investigators work the scene after a person drove a vehicle into a crowd killing several, earlier on Canal and Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Jan. 1, 2025.
Gerald Herbert/AP

Surveillance footage showed Jabbar placing two improvised explosive devices in coolers in the Bourbon Street area, Raia said. He had a remote detonator in the truck to set off the two devices, Biden said.

"Those are the only two devices that we've been able to recover that were functional -- both devices were rendered safe on scene," he said.

Authorities have conducted search warrants in New Orleans and outside of Louisiana, the FBI's New Orleans field office said.

A home in Houston was among those searched. The FBI in Houston said "there is no threat to residents in that area."

Raia urged anyone who knew Jabbar to come forward.

"While we have interviewed many people who know Jabbar, we still need to talk to others," he said. "Whether you know Jabbar personally, worked with him, served in the military or saw him in New Orleans or Texas, we need to talk to you."

He said police also want to speak with witnesses who were in the French Quarter on New Year's Eve or early on New Year's Day.

Undated photo of Shamsud-Din Jabbar.
FBI

The FBI has cleared Bourbon Street and authorities have the "confidence" to reopen it to the public ahead of the Sugar Bowl Thursday afternoon, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell announced Thursday.

The game was initially set for Wednesday and was postponed in the wake of the attack.

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry inspects Bourbon Street in the the French Quarter on January 2, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Andrew Caballero-reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

"I want to reassure the public that the city of New Orleans is not only ready for game day today, but we're ready to continue to host large-scale events in our city," she said.

"Our hearts and prayers continue to go out to the victims' families," she added.

Tourist walk past temporary barriers on Orleans and Bourbon Street, on Jan. 2, 2025, in New Orleans.
George Walker IV/AP

There's no apparent direct connection between the New Orleans attack and Wednesday's Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas, which is being investigated as a possible act of terror, Raia from the FBI said Thursday.

"They have not found any evidence of such a connection thus far -- I've directed them to keep looking," Biden said Thursday.

The Las Vegas driver was killed and seven bystanders suffered minor injuries, authorities said. The motive behind the incident remains under investigation, but investigators told ABC News they believe it was "intentional."

The Cybertruck was rented via the Turo app, as was the truck used in the New Orleans attack, sources told ABC News.

The Cybertruck driver had an Army special operations background but there's no evidence suggesting he and the New Orleans suspect knew each other, according to officials.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.