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The man who carried out a deadly New Year’s attack in New Orleans was in Tampa for three days in October, the FBI said.
TAMPA, Fla. — The FBI Field Office in Tampa provided an update on Wednesday into its investigation of Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the man authorities say is responsible for the deadly terrorist attack carried out in New Orleans over the New Year holiday.
Jabbar was in Tampa between Oct. 26 through Oct. 28 of last year, the FBI has confirmed.
“The FBI Tampa Field Office has not found any criminal intent, to date, as to why the man responsible for the deadly New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans visited Tampa,” a statement from the FBI reads.
The FBI’s Joint Terrorist Task Force has been tracking the 42-year-old’s movements throughout the area during the three-day period. That investigation remains underway.
There hasn’t been any indication that Jabbar “had any significant contact with anyone” while in Tampa, the FBI said. It has followed “hundreds” of leads from across the country and continues to do so.
“These leads include, but are not limited to, conducting interviews of individuals who may have encountered Jabbar and reviewing scores of financial documents to identify purchases made while he was in our community,” the FBI’s statement goes on to say.
As it was learned that Jabbar had visited Tampa, concerns grew about the upcoming Gasparilla celebrations that draw tens of thousands of people into the region.
Local, state and federal law enforcement agencies met earlier this month to reassure the public they are doing everything they can to keep people safe.
Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said that thousands of officers will be on hand and a safety plan is in place to prevent violence. Part of the police department’s planning process involved examining what happened in New Orleans, leaving the possibility of changing their current plan based on their potential findings.
Bercaw also commented earlier this month on Jabbar’s visit to Tampa.
“We are exploiting every lead to determine the reason for this visit,” Bercaw said at the time on the FBI’s behalf. “There’s no indication at this present time of any significant contact with persons in the area.”
The police department will have its aviation units deployed during both the Gasparilla Children’s Parade and the Gasparilla PirateFest. The FBI says it’s also committing additional technical and intelligence resources to the area
Fourteen people were killed when the Islamic State group-inspired attacker drove a truck into the celebratory crowd in New Orleans. After the rampage, police bodycam footage from that night shows the man shooting at officers before officers shot back, killing him.
The FBI is urging anyone who may have any information on Jabbar or his time in Tampa to submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov or call 1-800-CALL FBI (225-5324).