At least 15 people were killed and dozens injured when a pickup truck driver drove into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans early on New Year's Day. Authorities are investigating whether there is a possible link between the attack in New Orleans and the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck near the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas, UNN reports citing CNN.
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The FBI is investigating the attack in New Orleans as an "act of terrorism". The FBI has identified the suspect as a 42-year-old Texas resident and Army veteran. The suspect, who was killed in a shootout with officers, had an ISIS flag in his car during the attack. He also made a series of videos before the attack in which he said he had joined ISIS, according to several officials briefed on the investigation.
The suspect's car was rented through Turo, the company said. And the explosive devices linked to the New Orleans attack appear to have been manufactured in a space rented "for that purpose," the Louisiana attorney general told NBC.
The attack in the French Quarter occurred near the site where The Sugar Bowl was to take place a few hours later. The annual college football game was postponed. The city is also set to host the Super Bowl and the Mardi Gras carnival, which attracts about a million people each year.
Investigators are looking into whether there is a possible link between the attack in New Orleans and the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck near the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas. Both incidents occurred just a few hours before the new year.
"We are fully investigating any connection to what happened in New Orleans, as well as other attacks that are happening around the world," Kevin McMahill, the sheriff of the Las Vegas Police Department, said at a press conference on Wednesday.
The sheriff said that police are working to determine whether the explosion near the hotel was linked to ISIS, but "we have no indication of that here in Las Vegas.
The FBI said on Wednesday that they believe the Cybertruck explosion was an isolated incident and no longer poses a threat to the public.
The vehicles used in both incidents were rented from Turo, a platform that allows owners to rent out their cars.