Bomb-making materials found at New Orleans Airbnb potentially tied to Bourbon Street terrorist: report
[[{“value”:”
Bomb-making materials were reportedly found at a New Orleans Airbnb, as authorities investigate a possible connection to the truck-ramming terror attack that killed at least 15 people and injured over 30 others on Bourbon Street during a New Year’s celebration.
A small fire broke out at a suspected Airbnb property located in the 1300 block of Mandeville Street in the St. Roch neighborhood of New Orleans around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday.
The New Orleans Fire Department evacuated dozens of people from nearby homes and contacted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, FOX 8 reported.
Bomb-making materials were discovered at the property, sources confirmed to the outlet.
The FBI confirmed at a news conference Thursday that FBI and ATF agents have secured that house on Mandeville Street and “that location is being searched for potential evidence.” Two laptops were recovered from that address, the FBI said, and an additional three cell phones linked to the now-deceased suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, were being analyzed by investigators.
SUSPECT IDENTIFIED AS FBI INVESTIGATES ACT OF TERRORISM AFTER BOURBON STREET ATTACK
-
Image 1 of 6
Image 2 of 6
Image 3 of 6
Image 4 of 6
Image 5 of 6
Image 6 of 6
At Thursday’s news conference, ATF said that the Mandeville address is still being processed and the ATF national response team – comprised of certified fire investigators, explosives specialists, fire engineers and electrical engineers – were still working additional leads to help identify how the fire started the morning the attack unfolded across town on Bourbon Street.
Fox News Digital reached out to the listed owner of the Airbnb rental but did not immediately hear back.
“They said they found bomb-making material in the yellow house and wanted the bomb squad to look it over,” Bob Koenig, a different neighbor, told FOX 8 on Wednesday.
After Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen from Texas, drove a Ford pick-up truck into a crowd of revelers on Bourbon Street at approximately 3:15 a.m. local time New Year’s Day, the FBI began investigating the matter as an “act of terrorism.” In addition to crashing into the crowd, Jabbar exited the vehicle and fired on law enforcement, who returned fire, and the suspect was declared dead at the scene, according to the bureau.
BOURBON STREET ATTACK ON NEW YEAR’S REVELERS JUST THE LATEST CASE OF TERRORISTS USING TRUCKS TO KILL
An ISIS flag, weapons and a potential improvised explosive device (IED) were found in the vehicle, and other potential IEDs were found in the French Quarter, the FBI said.
After initially suspecting accomplices could be involved, the FBI said Thursday that the bureau now believes Jabbar acted alone.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The FBI denied any link to the Tesla Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas that took place Wednesday morning.
In Las Vegas early Wednesday, a Tesla Cybertruck loaded with firework mortars and camp fuel canisters exploded outside President-elect Donald Trump’s hotel, killing the driver and sole occupant inside and injuring at least seven others nearby.
“As you know, there’s also an FBI investigation in Las Vegas. We are following up on all potential leads and not ruling anything out. However, at this point, there is no definitive link between the attack here in New Orleans and the one in Las Vegas,” FBI Deputy Assistant Director of the Counterterrorism Division Christopher Raia told reporters.
“}]]