Governor Jeff Landry shared during a press conference on Thursday that investigators have received an influx of data about the Bourbon Street terror attack and are continuing to uncover more about what happened.
“From yesterday to today, over a thousand law enforcement agents and officers … have been pouring over countless amounts of data,” Landry said of the investigation.
Landry also discussed the Sugar Bowl, noting that law enforcement is working to secure the city to protect those who will be attending the game on Thursday after it was delayed 24 hours following the attack.
Christopher Wray, the FBI deputy assistant director from the counterterrorism division, also talked at the press conference, sharing that investigators currently believe that no other person was involved in the attack except for the 42-year-old Texas man, Shamsud-Din Jabbar.
Wray provided a timeline of the event, saying Jabbar joined the terrorist group ISIS as early as this past summer. It is not known when he planned his attack, but he made his first action on Monday.
“At this point, investigators believe that Jabbar picked up the rented F-150 in Houston, Texas, on Dec. 30. He then drove from Houston to New Orleans on the evening of the 31st, and he posted several videos to an online platform claiming his support for ISIS,” Wray said.
Police have recovered at least five videos posted by Jabbar. In some of the videos, he discussed his journey in joining ISIS, while in others, he said that he had initially planned on harming his family before driving to New Orleans.
“On New Year’s morning, Jabar opened fire after ramming through a blocked-off area of Bourbon Street [and] used his truck as a weapon to run over the victims,” Wray said.
Two potential explosive devices that were not detonated were also recovered by police, Wray shared.
Wray added that police are continuing to investigate the situation, asking those who know Jabbar or were in the French Quarter over the last two days to come forward.
In closing, Landry said that there is an "unprecedented" amount of law enforcement resources being utilized to finish the investigation.
"This type of event can happen in any city," Landry said. "And that's the tragedy of it. I think it's important to understand that to protect our citizens in America from evil, you have to crush it... and that's what we are going to do here."