
A car explosion outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas has been linked to a terror attack that killed 15 people in New Orleans on Wednesday, Jan. 1.
Police say Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, mowed down New Year revelers with a rented Ford EV pickup truck around 3:15 a.m. Wednesday.
Jabbar then jumped out of the truck and fired a semi-automatic rifle into the crowd. 15 people are confirmed dead and at least 35 wounded.
Jabbar wore body armor and camouflage. He was fatally shot by New Orleans police during an exchange of gunfire.
A flag pole wrapped with a black ISIS flag was attached to the truck hitch.
Federal investigators linked the New Orleans mass casualty event to a Cybertruck explosion outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday. Both trucks were rented through the Turo car-sharing app.
The Cybertruck detonated outside the hotel lobby doors, but the design of the $80,000 vehicle contained the fire inside the truck. The hotel was not damaged.
UPDATE IN VEGAS: A Cybertruck went up suddenly in flames up in front of Trump Hotel in Las Vegas.
pic.twitter.com/0EXNhhISDP— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) January 1, 2025
Investigators say cans of flammable racing fuel were packed inside the truck and detonated by the driver. The Cybertruck’s design directed the blast upwards.
The driver, 37-year-old Matthew Livelsberger of Colorado Springs, was killed in the explosion. The FBI said Livelsberger and the New Orleans terrorist served on the same military base in the past. Officials have not said if the 2 terrorists knew each other.
Elon Musk, founder of Tesla, said the terrorist incident in Las Vegas, which injured 7, was the best advertising for his Cybertruck.
Musk tweeted: “The evil knuckleheads picked the wrong vehicle for a terrorist attack. Cybertruck actually contained the explosion and directed the blast upwards. Not even the glass doors of the lobby were broken.”
In New Orleans, the FBI said Jabbar had three accomplices who planted IEDs around Bourbon and Canal Streets on New Year’s Eve. One of the IEDs was detonated by a bomb squad.
HORROR: More video emerges from New Orleans terror attack pic.twitter.com/JK51FBNnPI
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) January 1, 2025
???Footage of the truck hitting the crowd in New Orleans.
The FBI and the police must find these other evil terrorists that helped this monster. Pryayers go out to the families and the victims? pic.twitter.com/KKFk5PoVDa
— MagaTex Report ???? (@Fred2118439121) January 1, 2025
“He was hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did,” said Police Commissioner Anne Kirkpatrick at a press conference on Wednesday. “It was very intentional behavior. This man was trying to run over as many people as he could.”
Controversial New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell described the killings as a “terrorist attack.” But the FBI contradicted Cantrell and said there was no evidence of a terrorist attack. The FBI later confirmed the attack was terror-related and that Jabbar did not act alone.
The Sugar Bowl college football quarterfinal game was postponed until Thursday after the terror attack in New Orleans.
Officials said 500+ police officers will work to ensure safety at the Sugar Bowl.
President-elect Donald Trump said his administration would “fully support” the city of New Orleans. “Our hearts are with all of the innocent victims and their loved ones, including the brave officers of the New Orleans Police Department,” Trump said.
Trump initially said the terrorist was an illegal migrant.
In a promo video recorded in 2022, Jabbar described himself as a real estate agent who served in the U.S. Army as an IT specialist for 10 years. Jabbar said he was born in Beaumont, Texas, but lived in Houston.
42 years old Shamsud Din Jabbar was an American citizen born and raised in Texas, he also served in the US Army. ISIS flag recovered from his car.
He killed 10, injured 35 by ramming a car into crowd in French Quarters in New Orleans. pic.twitter.com/B0stfgAdaC
— Imtiaz Mahmood (@ImtiazMadmood) January 1, 2025