Return to Transcripts main page

CNN This Morning

Investigators Probe Attacks in New Orleans, Las Vegas; Trump Erroneously Labels New Orleans Driver an Immigrant; Suspect in New Orleans Attack Pleaded Guilty to DUI in 2015; New Orleans Attacker Had ISIS Flag During Incident. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired January 02, 2025 - 06:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: It's Thursday, January 2. Right now, on CNN THIS MORNING.

[06:00:41]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF ANNE KIRKPATRICK, NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPARTMENT: When we face evil, we have a choice. We can run in fear, or we can indeed stand in strength.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Terror on Bourbon Street. The latest on the ongoing FBI investigation into the New Orleans attack and the victims identified this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Mere hours before the attack, he posted videos on social media indicating that he was inspired by ISIS.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Inspired by ISIS. Authorities finding potential ties between the terror group and the suspected Army veteran behind the wheel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEREMY SCHWARTZ, ACTING SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, FBI LAS VEGAS OFFICE: Our second objective is to determine whether this was an act of terrorism or not. That is our goal, and that's what we're trying to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: A Cybertruck explodes outside of Trump's Las Vegas hotel, hours after the New Orleans attack. Investigators are now looking for a link.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think they'll support Speaker Johnson. He's the one that can win right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: And numbers game. Despite a key endorsement from the president- elect, the House spiker [SIC] -- the House speaker fighting to secure the votes to hold onto the gavel.

Six a.m. here on the East Coast. Here's a live look at the Superdome in New Orleans, home of today's Sugar Bowl, after it was postponed following yesterday's attack on Bourbon Street.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Manu Raju in for Kasie Hunt. Thank you for joining us this morning.

We have new details about the New Year's Day attack in New Orleans. At least 15 people are dead and dozens more injured after a driver rammed through a crowd of people on Bourbon Street yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZION PARSONS, WITNESS: You hear the -- the screech of tires. And when I turned my head around, there's like a -- a Yukon or Escalade or something just barreling down the street, bro. I kid you not. Like, real-life horror movie. Everything the car is hitting, it's getting thrown. It's getting thrown up into the air and away and just -- or under the car.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: The University of Alabama has confirmed one of its students is among the dead. Also killed, a 27-year-old Princeton football player, Tiger Bech, who was a native from Lafayette, Louisiana. Home visiting for the holidays.

And Reggie Hunter was 37. His cousin described him as a loving father and said he was known for his sense of humor. He leaves behind two young children.

The incident is being investigated by the FBI as an act of terrorism and, according to the FBI, potential explosive devices were found in the French Quarter, separate from where the car drove into the group of people.

They also said an ISIS flag was found in the vehicle used in the attack.

Now, law enforcement says the suspect involved in the incident was 42- year-old Army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar of Texas. He was killed in a firefight with police.

In a video we're about to show, you can see and hear that chaotic moment. We want to warn you, though: this may be disturbing to some viewers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(GUNFIRE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Multiple officials briefed on the investigation tell CNN in a series of videos show the suspect discussing plans to kill his family and wanting to join ISIS. Authorities believe he made the recordings when he was driving from his home in Texas to Louisiana. CNN has not reviewed those videos.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Law enforcement and intelligence community are continuing to look for any connections, associations, or coconspirators. We have nothing additional to report at this time. The investigation is continuing to be active, and no one should jump to conclusions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: The attack took place less than a mile away from where the college football Sugar Bowl was supposed to happen last night. The playoff game now has been postponed until today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIRKPATRICK: This city has been tried by fire before, but fire purifies. Fire makes things stronger. We have a plan. We know what to do. We are going to get these people. There is a path forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:05:04]

RAJU: Additionally, in Las Vegas, another New Year's Day incident. A Tesla truck exploded outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas.

The FBI is working to determine if that incident was a terrorist act. The driver there was killed.

Now, President Biden says law enforcement is looking into whether there's any connection between the two incidents.

Joining me now, Donell Harvin with Georgetown University's Emergency and Disaster Management; CNN's political -- politics senior reporter Stephen Collinson; former Biden -- Biden White House director of message planning Meghan Hays; and Republican strategist Matt Gorman.

Good morning to you all. Thanks for joining me.

Donell, I want to start with you. You are a security expert. You've worked in these areas for many, many years.

I want to know what you think about the investigation that's happening as we head into day two. And how they're -- the investigators right now are trying to figure out coconspirators that could have been involved in this attack and where they go from here. DONELL HARVIN, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY EMERGENCY AND DISASTER

MANAGEMENT: Well, there's two different tracks of the investigation right now, Manu.

There's running down all the leads and contacts that may have been affiliated with the actual attacker, who they know, and they have identity -- identification on.

And then there's those improvised explosive devices, those IEDs, those bombs that were placed near the French Quarter that actually may not have anything to do with the truck vehicle ramming.

And so first, they have to look at that physical evidence, see if that links to that individual. That could take DNA. So, they may be taking DNA swabs -- not to get too technical -- off of the individual and the devices.

There -- have other ways to look -- and look at the surveillance and see if that person was there before to plant those things.

So, there's a whole lot of things going on. There still may be, according to the last FBI presser, other individuals that may be affiliated or unaffiliated with this attacker that did the vehicle ramming that are out on -- at large. And so, that's what's going on right now.

RAJU: You know, there's this investigation that's ongoing, too, about what's happening in that Las Vegas incident. The Tesla vehicle that exploded outside the Trump Hotel.

What is the likelihood that you believe that this -- these could be linked and the concerns that the public should have about the impacts to their safety, as well?

HARVIN: I don't like to prognosticate, especially when I don't have access to the information that's going on. But I will tell you that it is a coincidence that, A, these attacks happen both at the same day, and B, that both the vehicles that were used in these incidents were leased or rented from the same online rental company, Turo, I believe it's called.

And so that's unique. They may be completely unlinked.

And you know, the -- the law enforcement community, the intelligence community is really on alert for these things. It may have nothing to do with each other, but that's something they're looking at, as well.

We still don't have publicly released information on the individual that was driving that car, the individual that's deceased yet. But I anticipate some more information will be coming out today on that.

RAJU: And, Donell, these big events are still happening in -- in New Orleans. The Sugar Bowl, as we know, is happening today. The Super Bowl next month, Mardi Gras in March.

How comfortable are you, as a security expert, in them carrying out these major events in the wake of this attack?

HARVIN: Well, I'll let you know that the NFL has a long history of doing the Super Bowl without incident. The NFL Super Bowl event is listed as a tier five event. So for DHS's standpoint, it is almost like a national security special event.

They throw all the resources available at the state and local and federal level to make sure that venue and the surrounding venues around the NFL are totally safe.

And so obviously, the Sugar Bowl that's going to happen today is going to be completely locked down. I'm not as concerned about the core venues of these.

What we've always worried about is what we call the last mile. You know, tailgating parties. You know, think about what happened over the summer with Taylor Swift, that that terrorist wasn't going to attack the terrorist -- the Taylor Swift concert. That individual was looking at the parking lot or other associated venues that large gatherings happen, that are not protected by the security apparatus of the venue.

And that's what officials need to look at.

RAJU: All right. I want to bring this back into the room here.

Stephen, let's talk about the reaction from some of the politicians here.

So, Biden come out -- he came out to give a speech yesterday, said we shouldn't jump to conclusions. This investigation is ongoing.

Trump very much seemed to jump to conclusions, suggested in this social media post that that, right off the bat, that there was -- potentially, this was an undocumented or an immigrant that came into the country.

Turns out this was a U.S. citizen who is the suspect here. What do you make of the way Trump responded here?

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Right. It seemed that the president-elect was immediately trying to make a political point, referring back to his time on the campaign trail, rather than pivoting to becoming president in just --

[06:10:04]

RAJU: Three weeks. Right.

COLLINSON: So, that is somewhat troublesome. And Biden's comments did seem to be an implicit rebuke of the president-elect when he said, you know, let's not jump to conclusions here.

I will say I watched a lot of this on social media yesterday, and the absolute torrent of misinformation was extraordinary, both on the New Orleans situation, as well as what happened in Vegas.

So, that is also something that the president-elect is actually playing into and exacerbating.

RAJU: What did you think of Trump's reaction?

MATT GORMAN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I think as I understand it, it was likely based on an initial news report from another network, claiming that the person came across the border two days ago. Then it was actually the truck, and then it wasn't two days ago. It was actually two months ago.

So, I -- a fairly safe assumption that he was basing it off of that.

I think in some of these respects, because one of the things I also recognize was I woke up yesterday morning to a reaction from the press conference that had already happened, the first one, where I think some of these officials got talking a little too quickly before they had a full handle on the situation.

And if you remember, in that initial press conference, it was -- I think it was, like, 8 o'clock Eastern Time, fairly early for New Year's Day.

There was disagreement at the actual press conference between the FBI special agent in charge and the mayor, whether or not there was actually a terrorist attack.

Now, look, normally I like getting information out there from government officials, but especially on a holiday where people are not waking up as early as they would be if this was a regular Wednesday morning, people are going to work, seemed like they could have taken a step back, taken a beat, gotten their arms around it a little more.

RAJU: Go ahead.

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER BIDEN WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING: It's good to get information out there quickly, but it needs to be accurate, right? Because you're playing into what the president did. Then that just makes everyone spin. Then it makes it a political -- you know, more political.

Then you have the president coming out a couple hours later, giving a statement saying, no, don't -- let's not jump to conclusions.

And so, you know, it's unfortunate that the president-elect did that, because I think that his job is to make people calm. That's what you're supposed to do as a president. And he's no longer campaigning. He is governing.

But I do think that you're right. A lot of this is fueled from the press conference where they were giving out misinformation, and I don't think it was purposeful. I'm not blaming them at all.

But they do need to take a step back and just remember that these are massive events. These are -- there's a lot of people in New Orleans for, you know, the Sugar Bowl. And I think that they need to take a beat. RAJU: Yes, I mean especially this is a complex investigation.

Typically, you wait for the facts to come out first before you base your conclusions. You make your conclusions.

Of course, there's a lot more we need to learn. And my panel is going to stick around.

But Donell Harvin, thank you so much for joining me and giving me your expertise this morning. Appreciate that.

And straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, new overnight: a shooting outside of a Queens nightclub leaves at least ten injured.

Plus, the FBI is investigating whether or not the deadly explosion outside of Trump's Las Vegas hotel was an act of terror.

And House Speaker Johnson's bid to secure the gavel for the upcoming Congress faces the potential battle from GOP hardliners.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fact is that these folks are playing with fire, and if they think they're somehow going to get a more conservative speaker, they're kidding themselves. Mike Johnson is arguably the most conservative speaker that's ever been elected to the office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:16:42]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was just unimaginable casualty. I mean, just the disfigurement and the bodies, thrown. Something you can't unsee; you'll never forget. Just the fact that these -- these people are somebody's people. And they're not going to be there this morning, it's -- it's rough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Condolences pouring in after Wednesday's horrific tragedy in New Orleans, as new information in the investigation comes to light this morning about the suspect.

Court documents show 42-year-old Army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar pleaded guilty to drunk driving charges in North Carolina in 2015.

CNN's Leigh Waldman is live on the scene. So, Lee, what can you tell us about this latest information and what else are you learning?

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Manu, good morning. We're learning that Jabbar drove a rented truck from his home in Texas here to New Orleans. We -- we know that he is an Army veteran and that, during his course

of his drive from Texas to New Orleans here, he recorded a series of videos. And in those videos, he elaborated on the fact he wanted to gather his family for a celebration, and he said he wanted to kill his family.

Then he switched from that plan and decided he was going to join ISIS.

Now, we also have found court records that show he had a series of financial troubles, as well. We're also learning, like you mentioned, he had a DUI arrest back in 2015.

Now, I want to talk to you about what we've seen here this morning, more than 24 hours since he carried out this deadly attack in the early hours of New Year's Day.

It's a flurry of law enforcement activity. This is Canal Street here. He turned down Bourbon Street. You can see a lot of law enforcement still here on Bourbon Street.

We've seen street cleaners turning down Bourbon Street. People are power washing, taking brooms down Bourbon Street, trying to clean that area.

Yesterday, law enforcement said it would be at least 48 hours before they could open up Bourbon Street back to the public.

We know this is a heavy tourism area. A lot of people spend a lot of time on Bourbon Street here, so it's a flurry of law enforcement activity as they try and conduct this investigation in a very large- scale area here.

So, a lot of activity is still happening more than 24 hours after this deadly attack occurred.

RAJU: And Leigh, let's talk about the Sugar Bowl that's been postponed until later today. What are you seeing in terms of security on the ground?

WALDMAN: Well, as far as security on the ground for the Sugar Bowl, we know that that's top of mind for so many people here.

Obviously, that was postponed due to public safety reasons. We're hearing from law enforcement that there's going to obviously be increased presence to keep people safe and to make sure that they, one, feel safe.

We also know that they're going to have increased number of canines who have explosive detection ability surrounding the Sugar Bowl.

That happened -- The Sugar Bowl is going to be played less than a mile from where this attack occurred.

New Orleans is going to play host to the Super Bowl in a month. It's also going to host Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest. There's a lot of big activities that New Orleans hosts throughout the course of the year. [06:20:03]

So, safety is a big factor. We've been highlighting those mechanical barricades that weren't working on New Year's Eve into New Year's Day. Those will supposedly be working during the Super Bowl, but they weren't working when this attack occurred.

But tonight, when it comes to the Sugar Bowl, we're going to see a lot more law enforcement patrolling that area, making sure that all the people that are in town for that game will be kept safe and make sure that they feel safe tonight.

RAJU: Yes. No question.

A huge, huge question about how the security will play out tonight. A lot of people will be watching. Let's hope everything stays safe.

Leigh Waldman from the French Quarter, thank you for that report.

And ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, the New Orleans attacker found with an ISIS Flag. Investigators now trying to determine whether he was actually recruited by the terror group.

Plus, a potential terror attack in the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas. Was this a message to the president-elect?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:25:02]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: An ISIS Flag was located on the trailer hitch of the vehicle, and the FBI is working to determine the subject's potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: The suspect in the deadly New Orleans truck tragedy had an ISIS flag with him as he carried out the attack on Bourbon Street. A police source telling CNN multiple suspected explosive devices were found in an ice chest in the pickup truck used by the suspected attacker.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: The FBI also reported to me that, mere hours before the attack, he posted videos on social media indicating that he was inspired by ISIS, expressing a desire to kill. A desire to kill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Multiple officials tell CNN the suspect made a series of video recordings before Wednesday's attack, claiming to have joined ISIS.

CNN's Nic Robertson joins us live from London. So, Nic, you have covered ISIS across the globe over many years. What

sort of influence does this terrorist ideology have in places like the United States? And how does that compare now to the group's reach in the past?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, I think there's one way to look at this, and this is what we've been hearing from intelligence officials.

And we heard here in the U.K. just a couple of months ago from the MI- 5 chief, Ken McCallum, saying, look, he believes that ISIS is trying to have a renewed effort to export terrorism.

Does that mean they're trying to send somebody from their camps in Syria or their set-ups in Afghanistan or in other places to the United States? Or are they trying to use their brand, their message, online influence somebody in the United States?

It's not quite clear what it means, but it does mean that that threat level is up. The MI-5 chief said in the U.K. alone, one-third of his resources at MI-5 intelligence service were taken up with looking at international terrorism.

So, is the attacker here working online? Perhaps less of a threat? Is he conspiring with others? Was he conspiring with others for other attacks? Was he alone through his actions, going to inspire somebody else like himself who is, you know, seeing a way, a route of vengeance or anger or whatever it is through the -- through ISIS, through -- through attributing their attacks to ISIS? So, is there going to be something that will follow on?

But I think for -- for intelligence officials right now, the ISIS threat and the potential of it through lone attackers -- although we understand he may have been working with others -- is a very, very real threat. And I think what we've witnessed in the past 24 hours really highlights that.

RAJU: Nic, can you talk about this campaign that ISIS has launched to recruit followers? How are they doing it and how effective is it, especially in places like the United States?

ROBERTSON: They will do it. They will try to do it online. They will try to influence people to perpetrate lone-wolf type attacks. They will -- and al Qaeda was doing this, as well, about 15 years ago. They recognize that they can't organize online and bring people together to work in a -- in a -- in a unit or 4 or 5 people, something like that, to build a number of bombs and then move those bombs together in a coordinated way. They can't do that easily.

The easiest way to attack is perhaps through a vehicle or a shooting, and that's what they're advising their followers. Find a pedestrian area, a crowded pedestrian area. Drive a vehicle at speed. The maximum speed, the maximum casualties.

This is -- this is how they're trying to inspire and motivate people. And they will typically, if they can identify people, motivate those that are going through some kind of personal family, financial trauma, upset.

This is what we've seen them do in the past. And potentially, that's the case here.

RAJU: All right. Nic Robertson, thank you for that report. Live from London for us. Appreciate it.

And coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, New Orleans officials weighing in on why some heavy metal posts designed to stop vehicles failed to prevent the deadly attack in New Orleans.

Plus, more questions as the FBI investigates the deadly Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHWARTZ: We believe this is an isolated incident. But again, over the next few hours and days, we will continue to do our best to research that as much as we can and get to the bottom of this. And we won't stop until we're 100 percent certain as to what happened and why.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:00]