FBI Leaving Evidence Behind at New Orleans Attacker’s Home Raises Questions

A video shot by a journalist inside the Houston home of suspected New Orleans terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar shows “a bomb making station” left after an FBI search, and is raising questions on social media over security.

Jennie Taer, bylined in the New York Post, put the video on X showing herself walking around the property leased by Islamic State supporter Jabbar, who police say drove a truck into a crowd of people on Wednesday killing 15 and injuring dozens.

Newsweek contacted the FBI and Houston Police Department via email on Thursday outside of regular office hours.

Why It Matters

Anything that could hamper the investigation or corrupt evidence the New Orleans attack could have major implications, as the FBI and police attempt to establish more information about Jabbar’s background and how he was radicalized.

What To Know

In the two minute 13 second video, the reporter walks around Jabbar’s home, after it had been raided by police, pointing out his possessions, including various chemicals laid across workstations and religious texts.

She prefaces the video in her post saying she had “found a bomb-making station and a Quran open to a chilling passage about martyrdom” on the “EXCLUSIVE TOUR.”

The footage raised concern from other social media users who questioned why a journalist had been allowed to enter the property and why some evidence appeared to have been left lying around.

In the clip, which has been viewed more than 4.9 million times on X, Taer enters the property through a broken down door commenting: “We’re here inside the New Orleans terrorist’s home. You can see that its been clearly destroyed, the door at least, from the FBI raid yesterday but if we walk through the home we see some signs of what he was up to.”

She proceeds to walk around the building showing various workstations complete with chemicals, personal items such as clothing and religious texts including an Arabic and English language copy of the Quran. According to the New York Post this was open on a page which read “they fight in Allah’s cause, and slay and are slain; a promise binding.”

Taer does not say why she was allowed inside the building, but there is no indication she was doing anything untoward.

The reporter added that Jabbar’s neighbors told her he “was done with his lease, it was up, and he was on his way to New Orleans where he would live there” and “didn’t take any furniture because he said this new home would be furnished.”

On Thursday the police revealed Jabbar had posted a series of videos on Facebook shortly before his attack, including one in which he said he’d initially considered murdering family members but changed his mind as he wanted to focus attention on the “war between the believers and disbelievers.”

What People Are Saying

In response to Taer on X Tim Young, a comedian and author from Texas with one million followers on the platform, commented: “The FBI literally seized a US Capitol LEGO set from a J6 defendant…

“But they left the Quran open to a passage about martyrdom next to the bomb making station sitting in the terrorists apartment… Sure, yeah, ok.”

A second X user wrote: “Another oddity in the midst of oddities. Has anyone ever heard of the media being given access to any crime related scene? Especially a terrorist?”

Brady Middleton, an X user from Michigan, asked: “Where was this access to the home of the Butler Trump assassin’s home?

“What about Ryan Routh? Or the Vegas shooter from a few years ago? What about access to other mass shooters or terrorists homes? Fishy AF [as f***].”

Andy, a volunteer firefighter who described himself as a supporter of Donald Trump‘s MAGA movement, asked: “You get access to this already, while casually wearing that outfit?? Why isn’t this sealed off???”

What Happens Next

Police will continue to investigate Jabbar in a bid to find out more about how he was radicalized and whether there was any possible connection to the Trump Hotel explosion in Las Vegas.

The Islamic State group has been attempting to regroup since losing nearly all the territory it held in Iraq and Syria between 2016 and 2019, and is likely to continue trying to conduct or inspire attacks on western countries.