Body cam video shows shootout between New Orleans police, Bourbon Street attacker
Editor's note: Video contains graphic images that some may find disturbing.
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Body camera footage of the Jan. 1 terror attack on Bourbon Street has been released.
On Friday, Jan. 10, New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick held a news conference to discuss the footage captured during the incident that left 14 dead and dozens other injured.
“They killed the terrorist. … They are national heroes,” Kirkpatrick said of the officers at a news conference.
Cameras captured the events leading up to the death of the suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar.
Jabbar had driven his white F-150 around a police car blockading the entrance of Bourbon Street, the city’s most famous thoroughfare, and plowed into revelers about 3:15 a.m. New Year’s Day, killing 14 and injuring dozens.
After the vehicle crashes, officer Christian Beyer stands beside the truck’s open driver’s side door with his gun raised, bodycam footage from approaching officer Luis Robles shows. Officer Jacobie Jordan is also seen standing by the driver’s side. He too had his gun drawn, officials said.
Beyer identifies himself and asks Jabbar to get out of the truck, said Sgt. Mike Guasco with the Public Integrity Bureau’s Force Investigation Team. The team is responsible for reviewing all police shootings.
Jabbar then shoots from behind an airbag at close range and the flash of the muzzle is visible. Robles and at least two unidentified officers turn, run a few steps away and dive onto the ground as a succession of shots rings out.
"Officers are trained for shoot scenarios, they are highly trained and that's what you saw. These are split-second decisions. This portion that we are releasing, has to do with policy issues. It's clear that these officers were well within policy so we have zero concerns about that," said Kirkpatrick.
An ongoing investigation by the FBI revealed that the incident was done intentionally. During a search of his vehicle, Houston home and a rented Airbnb on Mandeville Street, agents found explosive materials along with two ice chests containing IEDs also near Bourbon Street.
Two NOPD officers including one who did not discharge his weapon, according to Kirkpatrick, were both shot in the thigh. One additionally suffered a broken shoulder.
"In accordance with NOPD policy, all officers involved in this incident were placed in an administrative reassignment. However, this morning, I have removed them from the reassignment and they are cleared for full duty status," said Kirkpatrick.
Citing the ongoing investigation and pending legal action Kirkpatrick declined to say how many shots Jabbar fired. She also refused to answer questions about the number of officers in the area at the time of the attack and about security protocols on Bourbon Street.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.