New Orleans gunman opens fire on police before they shoot him, body camera video

The ISIS inspired attacker who killed 14 people in a truck on New Year’s Day in New Orleans fired at police officers from inside his car before officers fatally shot him, according to police body camera footage released Friday.

“They killed a terrorist…They are national heroes,” New Orleans Police Superintendent Ann Kirkpatrick said of the officers at a news conference.

Shamsud-Deen Jabbar had was driving his white F-150 around a police car blocking the entrance to Bourbon Street, the city’s most famous street, and plowed into revelers around 3:15 a.m. on New Year’s Day, killing 14 people and injuring dozens more.

After the crash, Officer Christian Beyer stands by the open driver’s side door of the truck with his gun raised. body camera recording from approaching officer Luis Robles shows. Officer Jacoby Jordan is also standing by the driver. He also had a gun drawn, officials said.

Beyer introduces himself and asks Jabbar to get out of the truck, said Sgt. Mike Guasco of the Bureau of Public Integrity’s investigative team. The team is responsible for reviewing all police footage.

Jabbar then fires from behind the airbag at close range and the muzzle flash is visible. Robles and at least two unidentified officers turn, run a few steps back and dive to the ground as a series of shots ring out.

According to Guasco, Beyer and Jordan fired their weapons. The third officer, who is not visible in the footage, Sgt. Nigel Daggs was standing by the front passenger door of the truck and also fired.

“Officers are trained for shooting scenarios like this — they are well trained and that’s what you saw. Those decisions are made in split seconds,” Kirkpatrick said.

Citing the ongoing investigation and pending lawsuit, Kirkpatrick said police have not yet released how many shots Jabbar fired. But she emphasized that the officers followed protocol and were allowed to return to full duty.

“All officers are faced with ‘shoot, don’t shoot.’ And it was clearly within the law and clearly, clearly within the policy,” Kirkpatrick said.

The three officers who shot Jabbar were Daggs, a 21-year veteran of the department, and Beyer and Jordan, who had each been with the department for nearly two years, police officials said. Jordan and nine-year veteran Joseph Rodrigue, who did not fire the weapon, were shot in the thighs and Rodrigue’s shoulder was broken. Kirkpatrick declined to comment on whether any officers or bystanders were injured by the friendly fire.

Daggs, Beyer and Jordan are normally assigned to the Fifth District, while Rodrigue is assigned to the Third District, police said in a statement Friday. Following this incident, all of the officers involved were placed on administrative leave.

The officers involved provided statements to investigators about “their thinking and understanding” of what happened, Kirkpatrick said, declining to elaborate because it is part of an FBI investigation. She said the officers would not be available for comment.

She also refused to answer questions about security measures taken or state how many officers were in the area at the time of the attack. A group of victims sued the city and two of its contractors Thursday, alleging they failed to take safety precautions that could have prevented the attack.

“I will answer any questions during the investigation and then the results of that will be released,” Kirkpatrick said. She said police will release more body camera footage later.

According to a 2019 report on security measures in New Orleans, investigators found the city can be vulnerablewriting that “the risk of terrorism, including mass shootings and vehicle attacks, remains very likely, although moderately likely.”

CBS News confirmed that a metal wedge barrier on the street meant to block vehicles was down during the attack, as were the metal posts at the intersections the attacker drove through along Bourbon Street.

Some victims and victims’ family members the attacker sued the city on Thursday — one week and one day after the attack — alleging that city leaders dropped the ball.

“Proper barriers, temporary or otherwise, were not installed,” the lawsuit states. “After all, the city and its contractors were given clear warnings about the car ramming on Bourbon Street.”

FBI official said at a briefing on Sunday that investigators are looking into a series of trips by the attacker to New Orleans and Egypt in 2023. Neither does the FBI liberated A security photo released Tuesday shows a man believed to be the attacker riding a bicycle through the French Quarter on Oct. 31, 2024, about two months before the attack.

Previous coverage: