Twin Attacks on New Year’s Day Spark National Security Concerns

Micah Hanks·
New Orleans Attack
CCTV image captured during the New Orleans attack involving a rented 2023 Ford Lightning.

Welcome to this New Year’s installment of The Intelligence Brief… as 2025 kicks off a brand-new year, federal authorities are on high alert in the aftermath of a pair of deadly attacks that occurred in separate U.S. cities within just hours of one another. In our analysis, we’ll be examining 1) what we know about the pair of incidents and their timing, which raised questions over possible connections between the attacks, 2) what details are known involving the vehicular attack in New Orleans early on Wednesday morning, 3) what the investigation into a Tesla Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas has revealed, and 4) what questions remain on the minds of federal authorities in the aftermath of the attacks.

Quote of the Week

“At this point, there is no definitive link between the attack here in New Orleans and the one in Las Vegas.”

– FBI official Christopher Raia

RECENT NEWS from The Debrief

An Unsettling Pair of New Year’s Day Tragedies

A pair of harrowing incidents that occurred on New Year’s Day—the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck in Las Vegas and a vehicular attack on New Year’s revelers in New Orleans that occurred just hours earlier—have prompted questions about domestic security, as well as possible connections between the deadly events.

Shortly after 3 a.m. on Wednesday, at least 15 were killed when a man drove a truck into a crowded street in New Orleans’ French Quarter. Authorities revealed the attack was carried out by a 42-year-old U.S. Army veteran, Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, who posted videos online prior to the incident indicating he had “pledged allegiance to ISIS” and expressed a “desire to kill.”

Hours later in Nevada, the explosion of a Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas killed one individual and injured seven others. In the aftermath of the incidents, President Biden called for vigilance in the face of evolving threats, although authorities say they do not believe the two attacks were connected.

An Attack in New Orleans’ French Quarter

At approximately 3:15 a.m. on New Year’s Day, the man identified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar drove a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year’s revelers on New Orleans’ famous Bourbon Street, killing 15 people. A shootout with law enforcement quickly ensued, and Jabbar was killed. Two officers were also injured.

Shortly before the incident, Jabbar posted videos online where he pledged allegiance to ISIS, the Salafi-jihadist group recognized by the U.S. Intelligence Community as a foreign terrorist organization that has conducted or inspired terrorist attacks around the world for more than a decade. In some of the videos, Jabbar appeared to be driving a vehicle at the time they were made.

With close to eight years in the Army that included a deployment to Afghanistan, Jabbar was honorably discharged in 2020. During a 2015 interview with Georgia State University’s student paper, Jabbar spoke about the difficulties of adapting to civilian life after his time in military service. According to his ex-wife’s husband, Jabbar had reportedly begun exhibiting “erratic behavior” recently and had also converted to Islam.

Jabbar
Jabbar, in an undated photo previously made available online by The 82nd Airborne Division of the US Army (Credit: U.S. Army/Public Domain).

Law enforcement officials say the rented vehicle Jabbar used in the attack contained weapons, a possible explosive device, and an ISIS flag. Significantly, bollards that are normally present along Bourbon Street had temporarily been removed for repairs, which New Orleans Police Department superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said had left the area vulnerable.

Kirkpatrick acknowledged the attack had occurred due to a failure of security measures that were in place.

Explosion in Las Vegas

Barely five hours after the tragic events in New Orleans, a Tesla Cybertruck filled with fireworks and gas canisters exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.

Parked close to the hotel’s entrance, the explosion killed the driver of the vehicle and injured seven people nearby. The explosion was characterized as an “isolated incident” according to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill, although terrorism had not been ruled out.

Las Vegas Cybertruck attack
The Tesla Cybertruck used in the Jan. 1 incident in Las Vegas, seen on fire prior to detonation (Public Domain).

Shortly after noon on Thursday, the driver of the vehicle was identified as 37-year-old Matthew Livelsberger, who like Jabbar, was also a U.S. Army veteran. FBI agents said they were still investigating whether the Las Vegas explosion should be treated as an act of terrorism.

Given the timing of the deadly incidents, authorities quickly began investigating whether they could be connected. While both of the vehicles used in the separate attacks had been rented using the Turo app, and were obtained by former U.S. Army veterans, it was ultimately determined that no connections had been found that indicated coordination between the two attacks.

In a statement, a Turo spokesperson said that neither renter possessed a criminal background, nor displayed any indications that would have helped identify them as a security threat. Although Tesla had not issued a statement following the Las Vegas incident, the company’s CEO, Elon Musk, reiterated in a posting on X that “the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck,” and that the vehicle had apparently been functioning properly.

A Somber Beginning to 2025

Speaking from Camp David, President Biden said that federal resources were being mobilized to assist local and state law enforcement in both investigations.

“We must ensure there is no remaining threat to the American people,” Biden said. Presently, the FBI is investigating whether the New Orleans attack could have been related to a larger ISIS cell, although no definitive links have been established at this time.

While authorities say there is nothing the investigation has revealed that links the two attacks, the incidents have nonetheless reignited ongoing debates about domestic extremism. According to a 2023 report by the Institute for Defense Analyses, “pathways to radicalization vary and there is no single profile of a radicalized individual ready to take violent action,” although it added that “many of the factors that make individuals susceptible to radicalization also drive other maladaptive behaviors such as suicidal inclinations and other forms of violence.

“For the Veterans’ community in particular, loss of military identity appears to have a strong association with difficult adjustments to civilian life that can in turn contribute to negative behaviors,” the report states.

Additionally, the incidents raise questions about the role of peer-to-peer rental platforms like Turo, and their misuse in helping facilitate criminal activity, with lawmakers and security experts emphasizing a need for stronger oversight of such rental services, in addition to screening and monitoring veterans’ mental wellness.

As investigations into the attacks continue, both New Orleans and Las Vegas remain on high alert. For many Americans, the events of the last 24 hours mark a tragic beginning to 2025, and a stark reminder of the ever-present need for vigilance against both domestic and international threats.

That concludes this week’s installment of The Intelligence Brief. You can read past editions of our newsletter at our website, or if you found this installment online, don’t forget to subscribe and get future email editions from us here. Also, if you have a tip or other information you’d like to send along directly to me, you can email me at micah [@] thedebrief [dot] org, or Tweet at me @MicahHanks.

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