The FBI revealed that the New Orleans terrorist attacker visited the city twice in the weeks leading up to the attack and recorded video of the area using Meta smart glasses.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, stayed at a rental home in New Orleans in late October and again in November, just weeks before his attack on Bourbon Street that killed 14 people.
According to Lyonel Myrthil, special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, Jabbar wore Meta smart glasses to record video while cycling through the French Quarter.
Meta smart glasses, developed in partnership with Ray-Ban, are equipped with cameras, microphones, and AI capabilities, enabling video recording and livestreaming. A spokesperson for Meta said the company is cooperating with law enforcement but declined to comment further. Myrthil said Jabbar also wore the glasses during the New Year’s Day attack, but they were not activated for a livestream.
The FBI released a compilation of clips online, including footage of Jabbar testing the glasses in a mirror and security camera footage of him in the area before the truck attack.
🎥: FBI releases videos showing Shamsud-Din Jabbar using Meta glasses to record Bourbon Street on Oct. 31, planting 2 coolers with IEDs on Jan. 1 & walking toward truck used in terror attack. @livenowfox pic.twitter.com/gDy5oSbPMC
— Josh Breslow (@JoshBreslowTV) January 5, 2025
Jabbar, a former U.S. Army soldier was killed in a firefight with officers after driving a rented truck through the busy strip on New Year’s Day. Investigators also discovered that he had planted two homemade bombs in the area prior to the attack, though neither detonated.
Preliminary reports indicate that Jabbar had an ISIS flag in his vehicle at the time of the attack.
