Title: Truck Collision in New Orleans Kills 15, FBI Suspects Possible Conspiracy

 

A truck "deliberately" crashed into a crowd in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, at around 3:15 a.m. local time on Wednesday (5:15 p.m. Malaysian time), resulting in at least 15 deaths and over 30 injuries.

New Orleans Police Chief Kirkpatrick said at a press conference that a man drove a truck along Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans "at a very high speed" and fired shots from the vehicle, hitting two police officers, who are currently in stable condition.

She stated: This is not a case of drunk driving, "this was an intentional act... this man attempted to run over as many people as possible."

Meanwhile, the FBI does not consider the suspect who was shot dead to have acted alone.

Duncan, a head of the FBI's New Orleans office, said at the press conference that the FBI does not believe the incident was solely carried out by the suspect Jabar, who was killed by police. They are investigating "a series of suspects" and at this stage "do not want to rule out any possibilities."

The FBI has classified the case as an act of terrorism for investigation.

Additionally, New Orleans coroner McKenna stated that the autopsy work will take several days, and the identities of the deceased will be announced after the autopsies are completed and the opinions of the victims' relatives are sought.

The 42-year-old Jabar was from Texas and reportedly previously served in the U.S. Army. Law enforcement officers discovered not only a flag of the extremist organization "Islamic State" in his truck but also firearms, at least two remotely detonated explosive devices, and their respective remote controls.

Suspected explosive devices were also found in the popular tourist area of the French Quarter in New Orleans, where the collision occurred.

Closed-circuit television captured three men and one woman setting up an improvised explosive device, but CNN reported that federal investigators do not believe the four individuals in the video were involved in placing the explosive device.