Image shows IED that was placed in French Quarter by New Orleans truck attacker, officials say

A photo showing what a law enforcement official said is one of two improvised explosive devices that investigators believe were placed in the French Quarter by the man responsible for the deadly New Orleans truck attack on New Year’s Day was obtained by CBS News Tuesday.  

The photo, which was provided by a senior law enforcement source with knowledge of the situation, shows rolls of nails and what appears to be a radio receiver inside a cooler.

The photo of the IED was first published by ABC News.

Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counterintelligence division, told reporters last week that two active IEDs were found in coolers near intersections in the French Quarter. Neither detonated.  

The FBI released surveillance video Sunday it said showed the attacker, 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar of Texas, placing the devices.

Officials said Jabbar had a detonator device inside the truck. They also said the detonator likely would not have worked. 

A person familiar with the investigation had previously told CBS News that the devices were rudimentary pipe bombs that contained shrapnel including nails, screws and tacks.

Jabbar used a truck to mow down people on Bourbon Street in the early hours of Jan. 1. At least 14 people were killed in the attack and dozens more injured in one of the deadliest vehicle-ramming incidents in the U.S. in recent years.

Officials said Jabbar had two guns on him at the time of the attack and used one of them to shoot and injure two police officers.

An FBI official said in a briefing Sunday that investigators are looking into a series of trips the attacker made to both New Orleans and Egypt in 2023. The FBI also released a security photo Tuesday that shows a man believed to be the attacker riding a bike through the French Quarter on Oct. 31, 2024, about two months before the attack. 

Jabbar, a U.S. citizen, was an Army veteran and Houston resident. According to the FBI, Jabbar said in videos recorded prior to the attack that he joined the Islamic State “before the summer.” An ISIS flag was attached to the back of the truck. Authorities have deemed the attack an act of terrorism. 

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden visited the attack site on Monday. 

“I know events like this are hard, the shock and pain is still so very raw,” Mr. Biden said at an evening vigil. “My wife, Jill, and I are here to stand with you, grieve with you, pray with you, let you know you are not alone.” 

contributed to this report.