By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Early reports at Fox News that New Orleans terror suspect Shamsud Din Jabbar was armed with two weapons—a Glock pistol and a .308-caliber rifle apparently reported stolen from New Jersey—have all but faded from view.
Other media outlets have briefly mentioned the firearms as the establishment media scrambles to report some details and seemingly ignore others. Jabbar was killed in a gunfight with New Orleans police officers after he plowed into a crowd of New Year’s party goers, killing at least 15 people and injuring more than 30, according to published reports.
During a news conference Thursday morning, FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia said his agency now believes Jabbar acted alone. He said two IED devices were recovered, and that there is video surveillance showing Jabbar personally placed them in the positions where they were found.
Raia also said two computers have been recovered. He said Jabbar had recently declared his allegiance to ISIS. Neither he, nor Joshua Jackson with the ATF mentioned firearms during the Thursday morning briefing.
CBS News did report that an unidentified law enforcement source had confirmed the recovery of a “long gun” fitted with a “suppressive device.”
Buried in one Fox News report was the revelation that Jabbar had once lived in North Carolina in 2012, and that he was registered to vote as a Democrat.
A naturally-born U.S. citizen from Texas, Jabbar served in the U.S. Army for several years and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2009. Following his honorable discharge, he attended Georgia State University. He was moist recently living in Houston, Texas.
He used a rented electric truck for the attack, which various observers have noted would make it far less likely for people to hear it coming. Videos from various sources have shown the truck speeding through occupied streets, with many New Year’s revelers barely escaping being run over.
If Jabbar was armed with a rifle stolen in a state more than 1,000 miles away, it would underscore arguments that no gun control laws keep firearms out of the wrong hands. There are no background checks on stolen guns.
Not much has been said about the guns and how Jabbar allegedly obtained them.
