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The man behind the January 1 New Orleans attack recorded his actions with Meta smart glasses, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has revealed. The suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, drove a rented truck into a crowded tourist area, killing 15 and injuring scores of others.
Jabbar had also placed explosives around the district. Fortunately, the police apprehended him before he could detonate them.
The video released by the FBI shows Jabbar's movements -- recorded through the smart glasses -- leading up to the attack.
The clip begins with Jabbar riding a bicycle through the French Quarter on October 31, 2024, capturing video of the area and surveying his surroundings. A few weeks later, he recorded himself looking into a mirror at the home he rented to "test the ability of his Meta glasses to record", as per the FBI.
On January 1 at around 1:53 am local time, Jabbar is seen placing the first improvised explosive device (IED) inside a blue cooler at the intersection of Bourbon Street and St. Peters Street. The cooler, unknowingly moved by pedestrians, was later found a block away on Orleans Street.
At approximately 2:20 am local time, Jabbar placed the second IED inside a "bucket-style" cooler at Bourbon and Toulouse Streets. The FBI later identified Jabbar walking down Governor Nicholls Street, headed towards his truck to retrieve the second cooler. His brown long coat was later found in the F-150 truck at the scene of the deadly attack.
Jabbar, a former US Army soldier and US citizen, was allegedly inspired by ISIS, the FBI said. The footage, along with Jabbar's travels to Cairo and Canada, is now key to the ongoing investigation into the motivations behind the attack.
Authorities have confirmed that Jabbar wore the Meta glasses during the attack, though the livestream function was not activated.