MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
And we begin this hour in New Orleans, where a scene of New Year revelry turned to one of chaos and fear after a truck drove through a crowd in the French Quarter in New Orleans early this morning. The FBI is investigating the incident as an act of terror. NPR's Debbie Elliott joins us now from New Orleans. Hey, there.
DEBBIE ELLIOTT, BYLINE: Hi there, Mary Louise.
KELLY: Hi. What happened?
ELLIOTT: Well, it was just after 3 a.m. Crowds, of course, still on Bourbon Street after ringing in the New Year here - and a pickup truck turned from Canal Street - you know, the main drag through New Orleans...
KELLY: Sure.
ELLIOTT: ...Onto Bourbon Street and plowed into the revelers coming across a sidewalk. Police responded immediately and exchanged gunfire with the driver. He was killed. Two officers were injured. At least 10 people were killed. Dozens more are in the hospital with some very serious injuries. The police officers, according to authorities here, are going to be fine. They're in stable condition. But authorities are saying that other victims are in more critical shape, and the death toll could still go up from here. Additionally, officials found two explosive devices at different locations around the city, and they're looking for more.
KELLY: OK. There are a lot of theories, conspiracies, making their way around. What do we actually know? What have we confirmed about the driver of the vehicle?
ELLIOTT: The FBI identifies him as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar. He's a U.S. citizen and an army veteran who lived in Houston. Agents say he was wearing camouflage and body armor and had an ISIS flag in the truck. Reporters and police were at his home in northwest Houston today. The white house was cut off from the street by a large, black iron gate. Houston Public Media's Rob Salinas tells us he saw ducks and sheep roaming the property. Police say that scene is the site of an active investigation.
And then a review by our Texas newsroom found records in Texas that Jabbar had started a handful of realty businesses there. Two of them went defunct in recent years. And in a now-removed YouTube video posted four years ago, Jabbar talked about how he was born and raised in Beaumont, Texas and spent all his life in the state, except for some time in the military. He said his 10 years in the military is, quote, "where I learned the meaning of great service and what it means to take everything seriously, dotting Is and crossing Ts to make sure things go off without a hitch."
KELLY: So what is the scene there now? Like, what is happening in the French Quarter?
ELLIOTT: Well, it's - Bourbon Street is closed for the investigation. And New Orleans police have been doing a sweep of the French Quarter and other parts of the central business district here, including the Superdome, where tonight's Sugar Bowl game between Notre Dame and Georgia has now been postponed until tomorrow night.
KELLY: OK.
ELLIOTT: Police chief Kirkpatrick acknowledges the attacker got around a police car that was blocking the entrance to Bourbon Street when he drove up on the sidewalk. She said, he, quote "defeated our plan." But she says officers responded appropriately and will continue to make sure the city is safe.
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ANNE KIRKPATRICK: This city has been tried by fire before, but fire purifies. Fire makes things stronger. We have a plan. We know what to do. We are going to get these people.
ELLIOTT: Note, Mary Louise, she said people. The FBI says it is looking at a range of suspects for this attack.
KELLY: OK. And I know Governor Jeff Landry has declared a state of emergency. It sounds like right now Bourbon Street is closed, as federal agents work their investigation.
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JEFF LANDRY: So right now, Bourbon Street is an active crime scene, and the FBI is in charge of it. When they clear it and it does not become an active crime scene anymore, we're going to open it up.
KELLY: Deb, about 30 seconds left, but I know this is such a busy time of year for New Orleans. There'll be tens of thousands of tourists out. Were you able to speak to any of them?
ELLIOTT: No, I wasn't, but we had a reporter from our Gulf Coast newsroom who was out talking to people earlier today, and they expressed concern about what was going on. You know, things are quieter than normal. I've been to a lot of Sugar Bowls in my life, and there aren't as many people around as there usually are. People are more subdued. And, you know, the city starts Mardi Gras in just a few days, and then it will host a Super Bowl in about a month, so there's a lot on the city's agenda coming up.
KELLY: NPR's Debbie Elliott reporting for us in New Orleans today. Thank you, Deb.
ELLIOTT: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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