Terrorists won’t target Super Bowl despite New Orleans fears as they want to make sure they kill, 9/11 responder insists
TERRORISTS will not target the Super Bowl in New Orleans even though security fears are at a heightened state following the New Year’s Day terror attack in the city, a 9/11 responder has told The U.S. Sun.
Thousands of diehard sports fans will pack the rafters of the 83,000-seater Caesars Superdome and descend on the Louisiana city for the star-studded game on February 9.
The game will take place just weeks after US Army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar used a Ford F-150 to plow into a crowd of revelers on the famed Bourbon Street.
Hours after the carnage in Louisiana, a Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Officials had already been crafting a security plan ahead of the iconic football game – but the issue of safety has been thrust into the limelight following the two incidents.
Bryan Stern, a 9/11 responder and multiple-tour combat veteran, warned there will be apprehension across all agencies.
“If I’m Homeland Security, if I’m the FBI, if I’m private security, I’m nervous. I’m nervous for sure,” he said.
“The Super Bowl is a primetime target.”
He explained the US is grappling with a series of security challenges heading into the event.
Stern previously criticized American foreign policy for creating domestic challenges and lamented changes in attitudes toward law enforcement.
He explained how the raft of mysterious drone sightings in the north-eastern United States has sparked security fears.
“That doesn’t bode well, but all the best units will be at the Super Bowl,” he said.
While the Super Bowl may be an attractive target because of the audience it will draw in, Stern explained why the event doesn’t tend to be targeted.
“If I was a bad guy, I probably wouldn’t hit the Super Bowl because I would want to succeed,” he said.
“If the bad guys get caught, it’s really bad.”
Who was Shamsud Din Jabbar?
THE man police suspect drove his car into a crowd of New Year's Eve revellers in New Orleans was 42-year-old Shamsud Din Jabbar.
He is believed to have killed 14 people in what authorities are investigating as a terrorist attack before cops shot him dead.
More details are emerging about the US Army veteran who was born and lived in Texas.
Jabbar had a criminal history after being arrested in Katy, Texas, in 2002 for misdemeanor theft.
He was also arrested in 2005 for driving without an invalid license.
Documents viewed by The U.S. Sun confirmed Jabbar held a real estate license from 2019 until it expired in February 2021.
In a YouTube video uploaded on May 12, 2020, Jabbar introduced himself as a Team Lead for the Midas Group and Property Manager at Blue Meadow Properties.
He shared that he was born and raised in Beaumont, Texas, but was living in Houston at the time of the video.
During his 10-year stint in the Army, Jabbar said he served as a human resources specialist and IT specialist from 2007 to 2015.
He was deployed to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010.
Between 2015 and 2020 he served in the Army Reserve as an IT specialist, the Army said.
Jabbar is a dad to two daughters and had two previous wives.
It’s unclear when his second divorce happened, but court files show that a restraining order was granted against him in 2020.
The New York Times reported a court document that the suspect filed in August 2022 as part of a divorce proceeding said he worked at the accounting firm Deloitte and made about $120,000 a year.
A ISIS flag was found in the truck by cops following the attack after it had been attached to a pole on the truck’s trailer hitch, the FBI said.
Jabbar had only converted to Islam within the last year and was “being all crazy” the new husband of his ex-wife said, the New York Times reports.
“One of the biggest barriers to entry to the Super Bowl is the ticket price,” he added.
“It’s one of the reasons why it doesn’t get hit so often.
“It’s expensive to get into the Super Bowl, and it’s also hard to get things in.”
Stern previously accused the US of being distracted in the fight against terrorism.
“There is a big misnomer that to be a bad guy, you can’t be an American,” he warned.
“In today’s world, you can be radicalized off an iPhone.
“The radicalization process for a terrorist is the same – whether you’re from Texas or Kazakhstan.”
However, NFL chiefs have tried to reassure fans about the security precautions taken in the years leading up to the Super Bowl.
“The NFL and the local host committee have been working collaboratively with local, state, and federal agencies the past two years and have developed comprehensive security plans,” they said in a statement.
The Sugar Bowl game between Georgia and Notre Dame saw hundreds of security personnel stationed at the Superdome.
It was delayed by a day but went ahead on Thursday.
Officials drafted in members of the Louisiana National Guard and law enforcement teams from across the state as part of the security effort.
The NFL has vowed that it is confident that the event will be safe.
A state of emergency was declared in Louisiana following the terror attack – a move that allows Governor Jeff Landry to turn to all available security resources at his disposal.
In the run-up to the Sugar Bowl, snipers were seen on the rooftops outside the Superdome.
FBI agents and bomb sniffer dogs were also deployed ahead of the football game.
Ahead of the Sugar Bowl event, Anne Kirkpatrick, the New Orleans Police Department Superintendent, revealed how security levels would be bolstered to Super Bowl levels.
HORROR UNFOLDS
New Orleans is preparing to host the Super Bowl for the 11th time.
The last time the city held the event was in 2013.
Meanwhile, the FBI probe following Wednesday’s attack remains ongoing.
Surveillance footage has since emerged that showed Jabbur loading up the white truck, which he used in the attack, with explosives.
The car was parked outside his rental Airbnb – located just two miles from Bourbon Street.
FBI agents revealed Jabbar rented the truck on December 30 using the app Turo.
The next day, he drove more than 300 miles from Houston to New Orleans.
The attack happened at around 3:15am local time but investigators uncovered that pro-ISIS material had been uploaded to social media.
And investigators learned how Jabbar had become radicalized after serving in the Army.
Jabbar was shot dead by cops following the rampage, and cops uncovered explosives and discovered an ISIS flag in his vehicle.
Investigators initially believed there were multiple suspects involved, but have since revised this and now say Jabbar carried out the attack alone.