The Texas man who killed 14 on New Year’s Day in New Orleans purchased one of the firearms used in the attack in Arlington, FBI investigators announced Sunday.
According to the FBI, 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar of Houston made several trips in the weeks leading up to New Year’s Day, when he plowed a truck through Bourbon Street before dying in a shootout with police. Investigators announced Jabbar traveled to Cairo, Egypt; Ontario, Canada; and Arlington in the months before the attack. While the agency does not yet know whether the first two trips are connected to the New Orleans incident, investigators found that a semiautomatic rifle recovered at the scene was purchased by Jabbar in Arlington on Nov. 19.
At least two police officers were struck by the rifle fire after Jabbar exited his vehicle, and New Orleans' police superintendent said the attacker “was hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did." Texas law allows residents to conduct private firearm sales, and the FBI said the individual who sold Jabbar the weapon did not know him and did not know Jabbar was planning to use the rifle in a mass attack.
Arlington police told WFAA they are not involved in any investigations related to Jabbar.
Still, a large event planned for Friday has the department adjusting security protocols. New Orleans was slated to host the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day before delaying the game because of Jabbar’s attack. The one-day delay allowed local and Louisiana state officials to implement stricter security measures at the event — a cue the Arlington Police Department is now following ahead of the Cotton Bowl Classic game kicking off at AT&T Stadium on Friday at 6:30 p.m.
“We will have dogs,” Arlington Police Department event management Deputy Chief Leo Daniels told NBCDFW. “We will be using on-demand aircraft systems. We will be evaluating traffic plans. We will be evaluating crowd movement. We will be using camera systems. All of those things will be part of our plan.”
The outlet published a photo of an Arlington PD-branded traffic guard that can help prevent vehicles from driving into pedestrian-heavy areas. Similar guards were not in place on Bourbon Street the evening of Jabbar’s attack.
