FBI Houston and Harris County Sheriff’s Office cleared the home of Shamsud Din Jabbar early Thursday morning without any arrests.
According to authorities, Jabbar drove a rented truck onto a crowded New Orleans street in the early hours of New Year's Day and died in a shootout with police. Officials confirmed 14 people died in the arrack and at least 30 others were injured.
The court-authorized search began Wednesday afternoon on the 1200 block of Crescent Peak Drive in Northeast Houston.
In a statement, federal authorities said there are no threats to neighbors in the area. Still, people remained inside their homes until Thursday evening.
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From a neighbor’s home, a ripped tin fence gives sight to Jabbar’s home. Tire marks from armored vehicles lead to the home’s broken wooden steps and lit porch. A white front door is now propped sideways on the frame after it was removed from the hinges.
Busted floorboards and personal belongings could be seen scattered near the entrance of the home. A Quran, a folded prayer rug, and other religious books could be seen from outside the home.
“They're going to look for, you know, bomb-making material, explosives, ammunition, weapons, things of that nature,” Dennis Franks, a retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent said. “I think pretty much anything and everything is going to be open to being searched for. Obviously, the electronic devices, any written material, documents. I'm sure they'll go over financial records, look for those because they'll give some indication of any connections with other potential terrorists or also it'll give a picture of his financial situation.”
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During a press conference Thursday morning in New Orleans, Christopher Raia, FBI Deputy Assistant Director for the Counterterrorism Division clarified that further evidence indicates the suspect acted alone.
“Investigators believe Jabbar picked up the rented F-150 in Houston, Texas, on December 30th. He then drove from Houston to New Orleans on the evening of the 31st, and he posted several videos to an online platform proclaiming his support for ISIS,” Raia said.
The FBI said they are also taking a close look at videos Jabbar posted leading up to the attack on Bourbon Street.
“There were five videos posted on Jabbar's Facebook account, which are timestamped beginning at 1:29 a.m. and the last at 3:02 a.m.,” Raia said. “In the first video, Jabbar explains he originally planned to harm his family and friends but was concerned the news headlines would not focus on the ‘war between the believers and the disbelievers’. Additionally, he stated he had joined ISIS before this summer.”
Neighbors in Houston said they are still shocked. A few blocks away from the neighborhood is a mosque frequented by the majority of those on Crescent Peak Drive. However, they said they do not recall ever seeing Jabbar attend.
In a statement sent Thursday afternoon, the Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) denounced the terroristic attack and encouraged anyone with information to come forward.
The statement reads in part:
“If reports that the perpetrator was a man with a history of drunk driving and spousal abuse who plotted to kill his family before supposedly experiencing dreams telling him to join Daesh are true, then his crime is the latest example of why cruel, merciless, bottom-feeding extremist groups have been rejected by the overwhelming majority of the Muslim world – from Islamic scholars, to mosques, to organizations, and to individual Muslims.”
The FBI said their investigation continues.
“With all hands on deck, I would think this will be done very expeditiously. I would think that that information could be acquired and known within, you know, 24 hours or so, if not before then. It just depends on how much is there, how much of it is hidden, how much of it is encrypted, perhaps,” Franks said. “I would say that overall, this investigation will continue for quite some time. We'll probably know a lot in the next week. But you know, (the investigation is) not going to end in a week. It'll keep going for probably months.”
Anyone with information can call 1-800-CALL-FBI or send digital tips to www.fbi.gov/bourbonstreetattack.
