The man who drove a pick-up truck into people celebrating the New Year in New Orleans is believed to have acted alone, according to the FBI – as new information was revealed about the two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) recovered near the scene.

There is also “no definitive link” between the attack and the Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas, said FBI deputy assistant director Christopher Raia.

Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s rented truck rammed into people in New Orleans’ famous Bourbon Street, killing 14 and injuring dozens, in the early hours of New Year’s Day.

New Orleans attack – follow latest

Mr Raia called the attack “premeditated” and an “evil” act of terrorism, and said Jabbar was “100% inspired by ISIS”, also known as Islamic State.

He also said the FBI was reviewing two laptops and three phones linked to Jabbar, as well as two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) recovered near the scene of the attack.

The two “functional” devices contained nails and were made of galvanized pipe with end caps, and taped inside two coolers, according to Sky News’ US partner NBC News, citing the FBI and two senior US law enforcement officials. Both devices had receivers for remote firing, they said.

It was not immediately clear if Jabbar tried to detonate the devices, or if they malfunctioned, the officials said.

And during a search of Jabbar’s home in Houston, investigators found remnants of bomb making.

Five videos posted in hours before attack

The 42-year-old army veteran, who was born in the US and lived in Texas, was shot dead after he crashed and opened fire on police.

The FBI said he posted five videos on his Facebook account between 1.29am and 3.02am – with the attack taking place around 3.15am.

In one, he said he planned to harm family and friends but was concerned headlines would not focus on the “war between the believers and disbelievers”.

He also joined Islamic State “before this summer” and provided a will, Mr Raia told reporters.

A black ISIS flag was attached to the back of the white Ford truck used in the attack and was pictured lying next to the vehicle.

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Authorities said Jabbar drove around police barricades on to the footpath, with witnesses describing carnage as the truck sped down the street, knocking people over.

“You just heard this squeal and the rev of the engine and this huge loud impact and then the people screaming,” said one witness, Kimberly Strickland from Alabama.

Barriers protecting pedestrians had been removed for repairs before the attack, city officials said, and were due to be replaced with a new bollard design.

While the works were taking place, they had been replaced with white gate barriers which were managed by the New Orleans Police Department, according to the City Of New Orleans.

Among the victims named so far are an 18-year-old aspiring nurse, a single mother with a four-year-old son, and a graduate of Princeton University.

What we know about Shamsud-Din Jabbar

The FBI also said CCTV showed Jabbar placing the IEDs near the scene. However, none of them went off.

The investigation is expected to look at any support or inspiration he may have drawn from IS or any of its affiliate groups.

The bureau has received more than 400 tips from members of the public and more than 1,000 agents and officers have been working on the case.

Jabbar held human resources and IT roles in the army from 2007 until 2015, and was stationed in Afghanistan for a year. He was then in the reserves until 2020.

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A friend described him as “very quiet, very reserved, smart, articulate” and said he had been raised a Christian before converting to Islam a long time ago.

Meanwhile, the Sugar Bowl college American football game went ahead on Thursday afternoon, with a moment of silence beforehand, after being postponed on Wednesday following the attack. The city will also host the Super Bowl next month.

The half-brother of the New Orleans attack suspect has said his actions were not “the man I knew”.

“This wasn’t the man I knew, this wasn’t the father, the son that I knew,” said Abdur-Rahim Jabbar whose half-brother Shamsud-Din Jabbar is suspected of committing the terrorist attack on the Bourbon Street area.

A pick-up truck struck people celebrating the New Year and Shamsud-Din was killed in a shootout with police. At least 14 people were killed and more than two dozen were injured.

The suspect’s younger half-brother Abdur-Rahim told a Texas-based TV station, owned by Sky News’s partner network NBC News: “It is a tragedy.”

“We’re all grieving about this,” he said.

Abdur-Rahim said he was thinking about those impacted by the attack.

“Our hearts and prayers and thoughts go out to those families, the victims of those families and those who were there to witness it,” he said.

The suspect was a Muslim, but his half-brother said: “This isn’t any representation of Islam or Muslims or the Muslim community.”

The FBI said Shamsud-Din was a 42-year-old US citizen and army veteran from Texas. Talking about himself in a work video in 2020, Shamsud-Din said he was born and raised in the state.

An Islamic State (IS) flag, weapons, and what appeared to be an improvised explosive device (IED) were found in the vehicle, the FBI said.

The suspect posted five videos on social media before the rampage in support of IS, the agency added.

Read more on this story:
How the atrocity unfolded
Did New Orleans authorities fail victims?
Carnage haunts New Orleans but ‘Big Easy’ suffered before

In his first clip, Shamsud-Din said he was planning to harm his own family and friends, but was concerned headlines would not focus on the “war between the believers and disbelievers”, said Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counter-terrorism division.

Shamsud-Din also joined IS “before this summer”, and provided a will, the FBI chief said.

He was twice divorced and had children. He worked as a human resource specialist and information technology specialist, Shamsud-Din said in one of his previous videos.

Did the authorities fail the victims of the New Orleans terror attack? It’s barely in question, surely.

And yet, consider the response of Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick of New Orleans police when I asked if she’d let them down by not having an appropriate security plan.

“That’s not correct, we would disagree with that.”

“It has to be a security failure?” I suggested.

“We do know that people have lost their lives,” she responded. “But if you were experienced with terrorism, you would not be asking that question.”

With that, she was escorted away from gathered journalists by her media handlers.

Superintendent Kirkpatrick had been holding a short news conference at the end of Bourbon Street to herald its re-opening. It was just yards from the spot where a terrorist was able to drive through a gap in a makeshift line of obstructions and accelerate towards New Year crowds.

Invoking “experience with terrorism” is something to ponder. What experience told authorities they had adequate protection against a vehicle attack?

What experience told them it was appropriate to have a car’s width gap in makeshift street barricades?

What experience told them to contradict the security protocols of major cities around the world when it comes to large public gatherings?

Read more on this story:
What we know about the suspect
Brother of attack victim reveals last words
The victims who have been named so far

To many, the answer shouldn’t be talk of experience – it should be, simply: “Sorry.” Notably, it has seemed to be the hardest word in a series of briefings by authorities who have bristled at the notion of security failings.

I asked Jack Bech for his view. He lost his brother Martin, or ‘Tiger’ in the Bourbon Street attack. He told Sky News he watched the final moments of his brother’s life on a FaceTime call to an emergency room as doctors tried, but failed, to save him.

It’s one heartbreaking story among dozens in this city.

On security, he said: “You can’t blame them. That dude easily could have been walking through the crowd with a jacket on and a bomb strapped to his chest.”

True. But the least that might be expected is an acknowledgement of failure to stop the man who drove his weapon into the crowd because he was able to. They certainly can’t claim success.

A measure of contrition would, perhaps, help the healing in this city. Experience should tell them that, if nothing else.