New Orleans attack death toll rises to 15 as Biden says suspect had 'desire to kill'

In brief remarks about the deadly New Orleans attack, US President Joe Biden said that the prime suspect of the incident expressed a “desire to kill”. The statement from the president was delivered on Wednesday after the authorities noted that the death toll in the attack rose to 15. Biden mentioned that the FBI found that “mere hours before the attack” the suspect “posted videos on social media indicating that he was inspired by ISIS, expressing a desire to kill”.

The POTUS maintained that the investigation is still at a preliminary stage and the situation continues to remain fluid. “The law enforcement intelligence community continues to look for connections, associations or co-conspirators,” he said. In his New Year remarks, Biden mentioned that law enforcement officers are also investigating the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside Donald Trump’s hotel in Las Vegas.

He said that the authorities would look into whether there was “any possible connection with the attack in New Orleans”. Biden maintained that he had nothing yet to report on those inquiries. “New Orleans is a place unlike any other place in the world – a city full of charm and joy. So many people around the world love New Orleans because of its history, its culture and above all its people. I know that while this person committed a terrible assault on this city, the spirit of New Orleans will never, never be defeated," he said. The president did not take any questions following his remarks.

Meanwhile, Trump pushes his anti-immigration rhetoric.

While pushing his same-old anti-immigration rhetoric, US President-elect Donald Trump suggested on social media that the suspect was an immigrant. “When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats and the Fake News Media, but it turned out to be true,” Trump wrote on TruthSocial.

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“The crime rate in our country is at a level that nobody has ever seen before,” he added falsely. “Our hearts are with all of the innocent victims and their loved ones, including the brave officers of the New Orleans Police Department," he added. While some initial reports suggested that the truck driver came from Mexico, officials on Wednesday confirmed that the suspect was a US-born citizen and served in the country’s army.

The man named Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar was from Texas. The authorities mentioned that he drove a pickup truck that carried an Islamic State flag, into the New Year’s Eve revellers, killing 10 people. The suspect passed away after exchanging gunfire with authorities.

With inputs from agencies.