Law enforcement agencies were alerted to the potential for vehicle ramming attacks by lone offenders weeks before a deadly incident in New Orleans on New Year's Day. This warning came after a similar attack in Germany, highlighting a concerning trend in mass casualty events.
Federal authorities, including the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and the National Counterterrorism Center, issued a joint bulletin on December 6th. This bulletin cautioned that "lone offenders" posed the greatest risk during the winter holidays and were likely to use easily accessible methods like vehicles to inflict harm. This alert followed a deadly vehicle ramming incident at a German Christmas market on December 20th, which resulted in multiple fatalities.
On New Year's Day, a truck driven by Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen, plowed into a crowd in New Orleans, killing 14 and injuring dozens more. The FBI confirmed that Jabbar acted alone and was "inspired by ISIS" with intent "to run over as many people as he could."
Separately, a fatal explosion involving a Tesla Cybertruck occurred outside a Las Vegas hotel, injuring seven others. While both incidents involved vehicles, authorities stated there is "no definitive link" between the two events, despite a growing trend of vehicle-ramming attacks in recent years. Law enforcement agencies have increased their vigilance regarding this type of attack, issuing advisories to event organizers to take preventative safety measures.
