New Orleans truck attack: What we know about the suspect and the deadly New Year incident

The US saw 2025 begin with a violent attack, after a man drove deliberately at high speed into a crowd of New Year's revellers in New Orleans, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens more.

Here is what we know so far:

How did it happen?

A US citizen drove a white Ford pickup truck flying a Daesh flag into throngs of people celebrating the New Year in the French Quarter, the Louisiana city's most iconic tourist district, around 3.15am (0915 GMT), according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

He crashed the vehicle, then opened fire and died in a shootout with police, who said he had driven with the aim of killing as many people as possible.

He had rented the truck on popular car-sharing app Turo, authorities said.

How many died in the attack?

Authorities had earlier put the toll at 10, but an FBI spokesman told AFP it had risen to 15, citing the New Orleans coroner's office.

The assailant shot and wounded two police officers, who were described as being in stable condition, said New Orleans police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick.

Was it a terrorist attack?

This was not immediately clear, but the FBI said it was investigating the attack as a possible act of terrorism.

US President Joe Biden said the suspect had shared videos online that indicated he was "inspired by Daesh".

Officials said the pickup truck was flying a black flag of the armed group and that they had recovered two improvised explosive devices.

Who was the suspect?

The FBI identified the suspect as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a US Army veteran who was honourably discharged.

He served more than 10 years in the military as a human resource specialist and an IT specialist, according to the Pentagon, which said Jabbar was deployed to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010.

Jabbar held a degree in computing from Georgia State University and lived in Houston, Texas, where he had worked as a real estate agent.

The FBI said it believes the suspect may have had accomplices, but gave few additional details.

• Vehicle attacks on pedestrians increasingly common around the world