Video shows New Orleans attack suspect dodging police barricade before crashing into crowd

Witnesses allege that the barricades put in place were not sufficient (Image: Screengrab/X)

Multiple videos of the deadly New Orleans attack have surfaced on social media. The suspect in the attack has been identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a US citizen from Texas, who was killed in a firing with police after ramming the crowd.

Wednesday’s attack, wherein the suspect drove his pickup truck into a crowd of New Year’s revellers, reportedly killed 15 people and injured about 30.

A video that has gone viral on social media platforms shows the attacker allegedly navigating around a police cruiser barricade just before the major attack. The footage shared on X shows several vehicles crossing the barricade in congested streets.

Witnesses allege that the barricades put in place were not sufficient. “We have these hydraulic steel barriers from past events. Those barricades were not up, period. They had the flimsy orange ones that you could just push over with your finger,” a witness told CNN.

JUST IN: New footage shows the moment Shamsud Din Jabbar allegedly navigated around a police cruiser barricade to carry out the terror attack.According to local reports, the city of New Orleans was replacing Bourbon Street bollards.We have these hydraulic steel barriers from pic.twitter.com/gTSQAEHvyA

Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 1, 2025

Jabbar was killed by the police after he exited the truck and opened fire on responding officers. New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said that the suspect was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did.”

FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan, meanwhile, said at a news conference, “We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible."

What US President Joe Biden said on the New Orleans attack?

Following the incident, US President Joe Biden said, “There is no justification for violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation’s communities.”

"The FBI also reported to me that mere hours before the attack, he posted videos on social media indicating that he's inspired by ISIS, expressing the desire to kill," Biden said of the New Orleans suspect.