Biden vows to keep public informed about investigation into ‘despicable’ New Orleans attack
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden called the terrorist attack in New Orleans that killed 15 people and injured dozens more “despicable” in an address to the nation Wednesday.
“I want you to know I grieve with you. Our nation grieves with you. We’re going to stand with you as you mourn and as you heal in the weeks to come,” Biden said at Camp David, Maryland.
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He said the FBI told him that just hours before the attack, the suspect posted videos to social media “indicating that he was inspired by ISIS, expressing a desire to kill.”
Biden also said that “the investigation is continuing to be active, and no one should jump to conclusions.” He said he would keep the country “fully, contemporaneously informed.”
“So many people around the world love New Orleans because of its history, its culture and, above all, its people,” he said. “So I know while this person committed a terrible assault on the city, the spirit of our New Orleans will never, never, never be defeated. It always will shine forth.”
Biden thanked first responders, as well as homeland security and law enforcement officials.
Biden also briefly addressed an incident in Las Vegas, where a Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside the Trump International Hotel. NBC News has reported that the blast is being investigated as a possible terrorist attack.
He said his team was tracking the explosion, noting that authorities are investigating any connection between the incident and the New Orleans attack.
Biden said there was “nothing to report” on any connection for now.
Just hours into the new year, a person drove a truck with an ISIS flag through a crowd in New Orleans. The suspect, who has been identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, died in a gunfight with police. Jabbar was a U.S. citizen and Army veteran.
In the wake of the attack, the Sugar Bowl college football game in New Orleans was postponed to 4 p.m. ET Thursday. It had originally been scheduled for Wednesday night; the delay “will allow for additional security resources to be put in place in order to maintain the typical standards of a major event in the Caesars Superdome,” the game’s organizers said in a statement.
The White House said earlier Wednesday that Biden held a call with top homeland security and law enforcement officials, including Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Earlier Wednesday, Biden said in a statement that he had directed his team “to ensure every resource is available as federal, state, and local law enforcement work assiduously to get to the bottom of what happened as quickly as possible and to ensure that there is no remaining threat of any kind.”
