Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the man who carried out the Bourbon Street attack in New Orleans in the early hours of New Year’s Day, had used Meta’s glasses to film the street and plan the attack: the videos were released by ‘FBI.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the man who carried out the New Year’s Eve massacre in New Orleans, used Meta’s glasses to plan the attack
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the man behind the New Year’s Eve massacre in New Orleans, Louisiana, used Meta’s glasses to plan the attack: between October and November 2024, the attacker had carried out some inspectionsrecording several videos with smart glasses: in the first of these videos, released by the FBI, Jabbar filmed the streets of the French Quarter of New Orleanswhere he identified Bourbon Street as a suitable location for the attack.
The man was wearing Meta’s glasses even during the massacrebut there is no indication that he used them to record or live stream the attack that claimed the lives of 14 people. The attacker was a 42-year-old US Army veteran, who had sworn allegiance to ISIS: in the early hours of New Year’s Day, driving a pick-up, he had hit dozens of people on Bourbon Streetand then opened fire on passers-by.
Meta’s glasses were found on the manwho was killed in the shootout with the police: two firearms, a semi-automatic pistol and a semi-automatic rifle were also recovered. Before the attack, Jabbar had recorded five more clips, in which he said he had inspired by the Islamic State.
In the meantime, investigators have also combed through the images from surveillance cameras, identifying at least two videos in which Jabbar placed some bombs: the first video, dating back to a few hours before the attack, shows the man placing a camping refrigerator at the intersection of Bourbon Street and St. Peter Street, then found a block away on Orleans Street after “many unsuspecting visitors to Bourbon Street have moved it” according to Lyonel Myrthil, special agent in charge of the FBI in New Orleans.
Further footage shows Jabbar leaving, again shortly before the attack a second explosive device inside a “chest” refrigerator on Bourbon Street and Toulouse Street. At one point, the man waves his hand as he looks towards Bourbon Street, then moves away from the fridge.
