U.S. President Joe Biden praised the “strength and resilience” of the people of New Orleans as he spoke late Monday at a prayer service following an attack last week that killed 14 people and injured 35 others.
“This city’s people get back up. That’s the spirit of America as well,” Biden said.
He praised first responders and pledged that his administration would make every resource available to support the investigation of the New Year’s Day attack in which a man drove a pickup truck through a crowd of pedestrians.
"I know events like this are hard. The shock and pain is still so very raw,” Biden said. “My wife, Jill, and I are here to stand with you. To grieve with you. To pray with you. To let you know you are not alone. The rest of the nation is looking at you as well."
Earlier Monday, the Bidens visited a makeshift memorial at the site of the attack. Jill Biden laid a bouquet of white flowers at the memorial, while the president made the sign of the cross. They then headed to Saint Peter Claver Church where they met with survivors of the attack and the families of the victims before the prayer service.
Watch related report by Arash Arabasadi:
The suspect in the attack, identified by authorities as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old military veteran from Houston, sped down bustling Bourbon Street, a prime tourist, restaurant and bar locale. Police fatally shot Jabbar after he opened fire on officers.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said Jabbar posted five videos on social media expressing support for the Islamic State group over roughly an hour and a half before the attack as revelers in New Orleans celebrated the first hours of 2025. An Islamic State flag was found in the back of the truck.
An FBI official said Sunday that Jabbar, wearing specialized hands-free glasses, last October twice visited the French Quarter neighborhood where the attack occurred.
Lyonel Myrthil, FBI special agent in charge of the New Orleans field office, said video shows the suspect riding through the French Quarter on a bicycle wearing Meta glasses that are capable of recording or livestreaming.
Myrthil said officials are also investigating two foreign trips Jabbar took, one to Cairo in the summer of 2023 and then to Canada a few days later.
"Our agents are getting answers to where he went, who he went with and how those trips may or may not tie into his actions here," Myrthil said.
FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia told reporters at a news conference Saturday, "All investigative details and evidence that we have now still support that Jabbar acted alone here in New Orleans. We have not seen any indications of an accomplice in the United States, but we are still looking into potential associates in the U.S. and outside of our borders."
Biden said investigators told him the suspect had a remote detonator in his truck that was meant to set off two explosive devices placed inside ice coolers along Bourbon Street. But police killed Jabbar before he could detonate the explosives.
In photos: New Orleans' French Quarter attack on New Year's Day
Representative Mike Turner, chairman of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, on Sunday reiterated to CBS’s “Face the Nation” news show a previously disclosed U.S. claim that there are Islamic State members and other terrorist organizations inside the United States "working in conjunction with ISIS with the intention of harming Americans.”
“We don’t know where they are,” Turner said.
Outgoing Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas told ABC’s “This Week” news show that there has been a “significant increase” over the last 10 years in “homegrown violent extremism.”
“It is a very difficult threat landscape,” Mayorkas said. He pledged a smooth transition to Trump’s appointment as the incoming Homeland Security secretary, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem.
“I have spoken with Governor Noem a number of times, including on New Year’s Day and immediately thereafter, with respect to the horrific terrorist attack,” Mayorkas said.
“We have spoken substantively about the measures that we take, and I am incredibly devoted to a smooth and successful transition to the success of Governor Noem, should she be confirmed as the secretary of Homeland Security,” Mayorkas said.
Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press and Reuters
