FBI releases new video after terrorist took New Orleans trip with Meta glasses before horror attack

Authorities have released new footage of the suspect who carried out a New Year's Day terrorist attack wearing the Meta glasses he used to record the French Quarter ahead of the massacre.

On Sunday the FBI held a press conference with the latest details surrounding the Bourbon Street terrorist attack that left 14 people dead. They said their investigation so far still supports that 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, acted alone.

They added there was no indication of an accomplice in the U.S. but they were still investigating possible accomplices abroad. Authorities said Jabbar used Meta glasses to record as he rides what appears to be a bicycle around the French Quarter during a trip to the area prior to the attack.

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The footage itself is unremarkable, showing people going about their day on Bourbon Street and beyond, but it highlights the premeditated nature of Jabbar's heinous actions. The FBI also released a brief clip of Jabbar wearing the glasses as he looked into a mirror.

He was wearing Meta glasses during the attack but was not live streaming, authorities said. The FBI also presented surveillance video of Jabbar placing the coolers containing IEDs around Bourbon Street.

On the night of the attack, Jabbar, wearing a brown overcoat, a dark button-down shirt, blue jeans, and dress shoes, was captured on surveillance placing the first IED in a cooler at 12:53 a.m. A bystander, who authorities said they believe was not involved in the incident, dragged the cooler a block. Then at 2:20 a.m., about an hour before he mows down the victims, Jabbar places second IED.

According to the ATF, the IEDs Jabbar used were not "unique" but he still did not use the correct device to set it off, reflecting his lack of experience.

Lyonel Myrthil, the special agent in charge of the New Orleans Field Office also provided details of Jabbar's movements in the years, days, and hours before the deadly attack. He said Jabbar travelled to Cairo, Egypt from June 22 to July 3, 2023, and a few days later he flew to Ontario, Canada before returning to the U.S.

Agents are looking into who he met on those trips and how they tied into the attack. Jabbar also made two trips to New Orleans two months before the attack, Myrthil said.

Authorities added that Jabbar set fire to the New Orleans AirBnB he was staying in, but the fire smothered itself before it spread to accelerants Jabbar spread. An ATF official added that they recovered Jabbar's rifle and a pistol that he bought from a private seller in Texas. The private seller did not know Jabbar was radicalized. Private gun sales are legal in Texas, officials said.

According to the FBI on Wednesday, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, crashed his pickup vehicle from Canal Street into Bourbon Street at approximately 3:15 a.m. on New Year's Day, killing 15 people. Weapons and a possible improvised explosive device were discovered inside the vehicle, which also had an ISIS flag.

Cops are actively working to determine Jabbar's travel history and background, officials told NBC News. Initial background checks indicate that Jabbar was a U.S. citizen and a resident of Houston, Texas. Jabbar lived in a run-down caravan park in Houston where he kept sheep, geese and goats.