Faith-Based Daily Awareness Post 2 January 2025

These updates are shared to help raise the situational awareness of Faith-Based organizations to best defend against and mitigate the impacts from all-hazards threats including physical security, cybersecurity, and natural disasters.

New Orleans Vehicle Ramming Attack

FBI Statement on the Attack in New Orleans

(On 01 Jan), at approximately 3:15 a.m. CST, an individual drove a pickup truck into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing at least 10 and injuring dozens of others. After hitting the crowd, he exited the vehicle and fired upon local law enforcement. Law enforcement returned fire, and the subject was pronounced deceased at the scene. Two law enforcement officers were injured and transported to a local hospital. 

• The subject has been identified as 42-year-old (name omitted), a U.S. citizen from Texas. He was driving a Ford pickup truck, which appears to have been rented, and we are working to confirm how the subject came into possession of the vehicle.
• An ISIS flag was located in the vehicle, and the FBI is working to determine the subject’s potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations. 
• Weapons and a potential IED were located in the subject’s vehicle. Other potential IEDs were also located in the French Quarter. The FBI’s special agent bomb technicians are working with our law enforcement partners to determine if any of these devices are viable, and they will work to render those devices safe. 

Additional Items:

• Live updates: New Orleans driver acted alone in ‘evil act’ that killed 14; rampage was ‘100% inspired by ISIS’, authorities say
• FBI Update on Bourbon Street Terrorist Attack
• Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Statement on New Orleans Attack. “The FBI is investigating this matter as an act of terrorism…”
• Statement from President Joe Biden
• What we know about the New Orleans terrorist attack (Good summary from Axios)
• AP Live Updates
• The Guardian Live Updates – New Orleans: local authorities say they believe ‘multiple people are involved’ in attack – latest updates
• Investigators now believe 4 people in video may not have been involved in placing IEDs, source says. Federal investigators now believe the three men and one woman seen in the French Quarter in surveillance video were not involved in placing improvised explosive devices in New Orleans, a law enforcement official told CNN.
• Suspect in deadly New Orleans attack was 13-year US army veteran, Shamsud-Din Jabbar
• ISIS Flag-Carrying Army Vet Mows Down 15 on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street
• Islamic State-inspired driver expressed desire to kill before deadly New Orleans rampage, Biden says
• Police probe motive in New Orleans truck rampage
• New Orleans terrorist (name omitted)’s brother blames ‘radicalization’ for attack that left 15 dead
• What We Know About the Suspected Bombs Found in the New Orleans Attack. Possible homemade bombs were found in and near the pickup that smashed into crowds, and possibly elsewhere in the French Quarter. That has raised investigators’ suspicions that the attacker may have had accomplices.
• Bourbon Street barriers were down, being replaced when driver struck dozens in mass attack
• What is Turo? Rental app used by both New Orleans terrorist and Trump Vegas hotel Cybertruck bomber
• BBC video: Moment New Orleans attacker enters busy street in pick-up truck
• Islamic State group-inspired New Orleans attack revives familiar fears
• New Orleans Terror Attack: An Overview of ISIS Support in America
• Soufan Center: Devastating New Year’s Day Attack In New Orleans Linked To The Islamic State

Analyst Comments:

The following resources can be useful in security planning and procedures:

• CISA: Vehicle Ramming Mitigation
  • Vehicle Incident Prevention and Mitigation Security Guide
  • Vehicle Ramming Mitigation Resources
  • Vehicle Ramming Self-Assessment Tool User Guide and Overview
  • Protecting Patrons in Outdoor Eating Venues
• UK NPSA: Hostile Vehicle Mitigation (HVM)
• Gate 15: The Hostile Event Attack Cycle (HEAC)
• JCAT First Responder’s Toolbox (selected items below)

• • Vehicle-Borne Attacks: Tactics and Mitigation
  • Considerations for Responding to an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) Attack
  • Awareness of Violent Extremist Tactics To Defeat Physical Security Can Improve Response
  • Evaluating and Responding to Violent Extremist Hoax Threats
  • Enhancing Bystander Reporting to Prevent Terrorism

Additionally, the 30 December 2024 Daily Awareness Post and 24 December 2024 Daily Awareness Post highlighted vehicle attacks and provided resources. Specifically, the 30 December DAP highlighted the UK’s recently updated Hostile Vehicle Mitigation (HVM) | NPSA website.

In 2024, FB-ISAO members received several advisories on the prevention and mitigation of vehicle ramming attacks.

Las Vegas Vehicle Explosion

Fireworks, gas tanks and camping fuel used in Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside Las Vegas Trump Hotel

Authorities believe fireworks, gas tanks and camping fuel were connected to a detonation system controlled by the driver in the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside a Trump Hotel in Las Vegas Wednesday morning, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation. The FBI is working to determine whether the incident was a terrorist act, Jeremy Schwartz, acting special agent in charge for the FBI’s Las Vegas office, said Wednesday. The agency believes it was an isolated incident and there is no further danger to the public, Schwartz noted.

• • The vehicle was rented in Colorado and arrived in Las Vegas at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, McMahill said.
  • About an hour later, after driving up and down Las Vegas Boulevard, the truck pulled up to the Trump Hotel and exploded, authorities said Wednesday evening.
  • Surveillance video shows a driver passing by the Trump Hotel in Vegas about an hour before the car explodes, and then circling back near the end of that hour and stopping in front of the hotel, where the car explodes several seconds later, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.
  • Police said they do know who rented the truck, but authorities are not prepared to release a name as they work to positively identify the person in the vehicle.
  • The vehicle was rented through the car rental company Turo, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation. McMahill said it was a “coincidence” that the truck used to ram into a crowd in New Orleans was also rented through Turo, and that authorities are investigating. CNN has reached out to the company.
  • “We do not believe that either renter involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat,” the (Turo) spokesperson said.
  • Authorities have not determined any connection between the two incidents at this time.

Additional Articles:

• Trump Las Vegas Cybertruck Bomber Identified As 37-Year-Old (name omitted). The Trump Las Vegas Cybertruck bomber has been identified as 37-year-old (name omitted) of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Local media reports he has military experience, similar to that of the New Orleans terrorist. The FBI is conducting a search at his home, according to local media. A LinkedIn profile that appears to be of the Cybertruck bomber shows that he served as a member of the US Army’s elite Green Berets. The profile also suggests that he was still an active member of the US Army, working as Remote and Autonomous Systems manager for the past 3 months.
• New Photos Show Blown-Up Cybertruck Stuffed With Explosives Outside Trump Hotel
• Police Release New Footage Of Cybertruck That Exploded Outside Trump’s Las Vegas Hotel (video)
• One dead, seven injured as Cybertruck explodes outside Trump’s hotel in Las Vegas
• New Orleans attack: Authorities probe potential link with Las Vegas explosion. President Joe Biden said investigators are looking into whether the two incidents are linked, but “thus far, there is nothing to report”.
• FBI investigating deadly Cybertruck explosion at Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas

Analyst Comments:

The following resources can be useful in security planning and procedures:

• What to Do: Surviving a Bombing Attack Video | CISA
• VBIED Identification Card | CISA
• VBIED-Preparedness-Recognition-Response-ONLINE-Version.pdf
• Bombing Prevention Assistance for K-12 Schools | CISA
• Suspicious Activity Recognition for Bombing Prevention Course (AWR-943-W) | CISA
• Response to Suspicious Behaviors and Items for Bombing Prevention Course (AWR-335) | CISA