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Authorities Investigate Possible Links Between New Orleans Attack and Las Vegas Explosion; Biden to Convene Homeland Security Team in Situation Room; Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) Fights to Keep His Job Ahead of Friday's Vote. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired January 02, 2025 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[10:00:00]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. You are live in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

This morning, we are following breaking news within hours of each other on New Year's Day, an attack in New Orleans and an explosion in Las Vegas. And investigators are now looking into whether they are both connected.

Right now, authorities are rushing to piece together why a Texas man, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, ran a truck through Bourbon Street, killing at least 15 people. The FBI is conducting search warrants in multiple states. Investigators say they don't think the attacker was solely responsible.

Just hours later, and about 1,500 miles away, the explosion outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas, fireworks, gas tanks and camping fuel packed into a Cybertruck detonated, killing the driver and injuring seven others.

Let's get straight to CNN's Ryan Young. He is live for us in New Orleans. Ryan, what's the latest on the investigation?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We know the FBI continues to investigate this and see whether or not there's more connections to other people involved in this case. I can tell you the streets here are packed as tourists and football fans have started to reemerge and hit the streets, especially with that game coming in the next few hours. But look behind me, Jim, that's the street that's been the focus so far. Sanitation workers have been down there trying to clean and get this street back open, Canal and Bourbon Street, where that horrific attack happened and 15 people were killed.

What we do know, as I talked to a sanitation worker, he says he saw things down there that he will never be able to forget because it's almost indescribable the carnage that's down there.

As we show you this video, we know the suspect Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a U.S, citizen from Texas, and an Army veteran, had an ISIS flag on the back of the Ford F-150 lightning that he had rented from a Turo site and then drove from Houston here.

But there's been a lot of conversation about how he was able to get that big truck on the sidewalk past the barrier. In fact, the police chief talked about the fact that some of the barriers weren't working and it was a part of a construction project that they were getting all together. Take a listen.

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SUPT. ANNE KIRKPATRICK, NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPARTMENT: Well, they were not able to be up and running, and that is because it was under repair. We were aware of this issue, and that's why we were using patrol cars. That will be changing today. We will have much heavier equipment to harden these softer targets.

So, the city had a multimillion dollar package for repairing this infrastructure obviously in time for the Super Bowl, but it was not complete at the time of this event last night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Yes, I actually talked to the superintendent this morning. She was telling me she was on her way to the FBI briefing. I can tell you, Jim, there has been a lot of extra security that's been surged in this area. We have seen National Guard members on the streets here early this morning.

ACOSTA: And, Ryan, what more are we learning about the victims?

YOUNG: That is the very tough part. When you talk to people who live in this town, they really feel like part of their hearts were ripped out by this devastating the sound that was made when that truck went ripping down the street. Bodies were everywhere.

Take a listen to two folks who were nearby when this attack happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNICA, WITNESSED NEW ORLEANS ATTACK: I didn't realize in the moment that I saw a wheelchair that was sitting there. You know, at first I thought, like, is that a motorcycle? Like my eyes had to strain to understand what I was seeing. And then to see the man from the wheelchair laying in the gutter was heart wrenching, you know? And there's nothing that we can do to help. We don't help the situation by entering into it. So, all we could do is stand by and watch and to see immediately dead bodies laying in the street, both directions, is something that nobody should have to see in the beginning of the new year. It's heart wrenching.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Yes. Some of the video that I've seen online is heart wrenching. It is difficult to watch. We should say the names of some of the victims that we know so far. Tiger Beck was 27. Reggie Hunter was 37. Kareem Bawadi are some of the names that we know so far. Let's not also forget about the two officers who engaged the suspect who were shot. We're told they're in stable conditions. Their name has not been released yet, but a lot of carnage and a lot of pain still in the city, Jim, as we look forward to the game that's coming a little later on this afternoon.

ACOSTA: All right. Ryan Young live for us in New Orleans, thanks very much.

Let's bring in the Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams. Mr. Williams, thank you very much for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.

You know, it's been more than 24 hours since this horrific attack. Is there any reason to believe what happened in New Orleans is somehow connected to what took place in Las Vegas? Are you seeing any information leading you in that direction?

JASON WILLIAMS, ORLEANS PARISH DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I won't say a lot about the details of the investigation. I think we have to consider everything on the table when something like this happens. When the first plane flew in a 9/11, everybody thought it was one thing and then we realized it was a coordinated attack. And I think and I pray that other city leaders are looking at every single thing that's happening in the city of New Orleans. So, there are lessons learned. They're looking at certain one-offs that might be occurring in their jurisdictions to figure out if there are some connections.

This happened in the first three hours of a new year. It was planned. It was strategic. And I think we need to keep all of the possibilities in the forefront of our mind.

ACOSTA: And what about any new information indicating that the suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, had help from others? There have been reports sort of going back and forth. I know authorities have said that they believe that that's the case. Any information you can share on that front?

WILLIAMS: That is still the leads that we're pursuing. I think everyone who lives here or visits here would agree that they want every single lead exhausted to make sure that he was in fact a lone wolf or figure out every single person that assisted him, whether that assistance happened in New Orleans or Texas or elsewhere.

We know he was radicalized by someone. We don't know about his ability with these rudimentary explosives. We want to figure out who rented truck, whether or not there was any connection to the rented vehicle in Vegas. So, there's a lot that suggests that others were involved. And you can rest assured that every law enforcement agency in my jurisdiction is doing everything they can to follow the lead of the FBI to find those individuals.

ACOSTA: And, Mr. Williams, what about these security barriers that were not in place? What do we know about that? And is it possible that Shamsud-Din Jabbar was casing out Bourbon Street and noticed that those barriers had been removed? Is there any indication that that was the case, that he was casing out the area for this kind of an attack?

WILLIAMS: It's certainly a possibility. There are certain patterns that you see with radicalized persons. This tracks with Sharid Mowgli (ph), Carlos Leon Bledsoe, Nidal Hassan is probably the closest, most comparable thing.

The perpetrator, used a Ford F-150 Lightning vehicle that weighs over 6,000 pounds, likely because of its ability to cause extensive damage, just like what's occurred in Europe hundreds of times. I would imagine that he absolutely, after he got into the city, was checking out and was casing the French Quarter, looking for the softest target. And, you know, there'll be an after-action report to go back and look at surveillance camera footage, public safety cam to see if we can track that vehicle and its whereabouts for the days and hours leading up to this horrible attack.

ACOSTA: Yes. I mean, that leads me to the question as to whether, you know, some of this closed circuit security camera footage might have been available to you in some way where you could be reviewing that footage and potentially see him in the area before the attack occurred and anything that you can offer on that front.

WILLIAMS: All that's on the table. You certainly could see that from the video that he went off of the roadway, which was never anticipated by local leaders before. There was barricades on the roadway. And part of that is there's a lot of speculation. There's a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking, but we also -- you can't build a dam that is that is obstructing egress from thousands of people on a street, right? So, you can't put a metal detector on the street. You can't put a barricade that won't allow people to run out if the dangers inside of the French Quarter from shots fired.

So, there's going to be a lot of after-action reports to figure out exactly what could have been done better, what deficiencies exist. But we've got a twofold operation going on now, find anyone else if they were involved and secure the city of New Orleans, Bourbon Street, and the Sugar Bowl, for this larger event that we're hosting.

[10:10:08]

ACOSTA: And I was going to ask you about the Sugar Bowl. I mean, what kind of security upgrades are we going to see there at the game today?

WILLIAMS: It's almost like just after 9/11. We all used to be able to run from your car to your gate. I grew up like that. Everything changed after 9/11. I think you're going to see everything change about large scale events, what parking areas will be allowed in the Superdome, bomb sniffing dogs being a part of everyday protocol getting into the Sugar Bowl.

We're going to do everything we can to make sure that the public is safe, that our visitors are safe and that this event that is important to Americans goes off safely. They didn't just attack my home where I live here in the city of New Orleans. They attacked all Americans, not just Democrats or Republicans. They attacked Americans and our way of life. Football is a huge part of that. I don't think it's serendipity that this happened on the cusp of the Sugar Bowl. So, there's going to be a lot of changes that are happening in how you can enter the Superdome, how you can lead the Super Bowl, where you can park and what you can bring in.

ACOSTA: And, Jason, I just want to ask you very quickly, we're at the end of our time here, but reopening Bourbon Street, we understand that's going to be happening later on today. Is it too soon for that? Is it going to be safe and secure for tourists to go back into that area?

WILLIAMS: That may or may not happen. That's a fluid situation. That's going to be decided based upon the most recent intel that's coming in about potential other suspects. As you know, there were explosive devices that were found throughout the area. Police have worked that grid. That decision will be made in real-time based upon the information that we have.

The original closures were based upon the fact that a number of the decedents, may they rest in peace and praying for their families, were still on the ground on Bourbon Street because it was an active crime scene.

ACOSTA: All right. Jason Williams, the Orleans Parish district attorney, thank you very much for your time this morning. All the best to New Orleans. It's a great city. Sorry for what that city is going through. I really appreciate it.

WILLIAMS: Thank you.

ACOSTA: All right. Coming up, investigators are looking into the Cybertruck explosion. Outside a Trump hotel whether that was an act of terrorism. We're live in Las Vegas with the very latest. That's coming up

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[10:15:00]

ACOSTA: All right, some more breaking news to tell you about. We're learning that President Biden will convene the administration's Homeland Security team in the White House Situation Room today on the New Orleans attack.

I want to go straight to CNN's Arlette Saenz over at the White House. Arlette, what more are you learning?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, President Biden will meet with members of his Homeland Security team in the Situation Room here at the White House at 12:15 to receive the latest updates in the investigation into this attack in New Orleans on New Year's Day.

Now, the president is set to return in the coming hours this morning to the White House from Camp David, where he had received updates throughout the day into the investigation on Sunday. President Biden did speak to the nation last night where he said that this was a despicable attack and said that he and his team were working to learn more about exactly why and how this attack transpired, but also whether the suspect had any accomplices.

The president shared some of the information they do have about the suspect, the fact that he is an American citizen and a former member of the military. And President Biden importantly said that he had posted videos indicating that he was inspired by ISIS.

Here is a bit more of how President Biden characterized the ongoing investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: The law enforcement intelligence community will continue to look for any connections, associations or co- conspirators. We have nothing additional to report at this time. The investigation is continuing to be active and no one should jump to conclusions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: In addition to the attack in New Orleans, President Biden said his team was also looking to the explosion of that Cybertruck at Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas. The president said investigators would be looking to see whether there were any connections between the two incidents. Though, as of last night, the president said he did not have any updates on that front.

But each of these investigations do remain fluid. So, we will see if we will hear anything from the president when he arrives here at the White House in a few hours. And, of course, there's also this task that so many families are dealing with of mourning the loss of their loved ones. The president has said that the nation is grieving with them at this time. Jim?

ACOSTA: All right, Arlette Saenz at the White House, thanks very much.

More breaking news to tell you about. We're now learning the man connected to the rental of the Cybertruck that exploded outside of the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas as a U.S. Special Forces soldier. Surveillance video shows the moment a Tesla Cybertruck exploded. Police say the driver detonated a combination of fireworks, gas tanks, and camping fuel. The FBI now working to figure out whether this was indeed an act of terrorism. The driver was killed and at least seven people were injured.

And CNN's Natasha Chen joins us now from Las Vegas. Natasha, some very interesting information coming in from our Haley Britzky over at the Pentagon about the man connected to the rental of this Cybertruck. What more are you learning?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, Jim. Well, Haley has confirmed in just the last few minutes that he is an active duty U.S. Special Forces soldier assigned to 10th Special Forces Group, according to four U.S. officials, that he holds the rank of master sergeant, a senior enlisted rank, these officials said. Three officials said he was on active duty serving in Germany, and he was on leave when this happened on New Year's Day. He has not been identified publicly, and authorities are still trying to work out whether this was a terrorist attack.

Now, just to recap a little bit of what happened behind us just 24 hours ago approximately, there are still police presence here around the valet area of where you pull into the Trump International Hotel just off of the Vegas Strip. This Cybertruck that he allegedly rented was rented from Colorado from the Turo rental platform. Authorities say that he drove it here to Las Vegas by 7:30 A.M. on New Year's Day, that he drove up and down the strip, and then about an hour before the explosion, drove past the Trump Hotel as well.

And police did make note that the damage was really limited because of the body construction of this Tesla Cybertruck, saying that, you know, the front glass of the Trump Hotel behind us did not even suffer any damage. The driver inside did die from this explosion. There were seven other people injured, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Natasha Chen, get back to us if you hear anything else. We really appreciate it.

For more on this, CNN's Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller joins us now. John, let's start with this new information coming in from our Haley Britzky over at the Pentagon. How shocking is this that this was an active duty soldier? You know, to me, I mean, the fact that this was a U.S. Special Forces soldier assigned to the 10th Special Forces Group, I mean, that tells us that this individual had some expertise if he is indeed the person who was inside the Cybertruck in addition to renting it.

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, this is information we first reported last night that he was a U.S. Special Forces operator. The fact that he's active duty on leave from Germany is just something that sets him apart in so many ways from the terrorist profile we've become accustomed to in these attacks and raises real questions as to what was this event in Las Vegas. Was it an attack on the building? Was it a calculated suicide?

But his training for a 36-year-old, 19-year veteran, active duty U.S. Military Green Beret, special operations training risk management and vulnerability certification, intelligence operations, this really sets him apart in terms of a higher level of training and capability than anyone we would have seen in a similar attack.

So, again, Jim, it goes back to the question of what was this, the idea of getting the Elon Musk signature car and bringing it to the gold Trump sign in Las Vegas, driving from Colorado Springs. It really suggests he's trying to send a message with visualization. But he -- allegedly, if he is the same person whose body was found in that car, they still haven't been able to identify that body, but they know who rented the car, if he is the individual inside, apparently, he chose to press that detonator and then remain inside as this conflagration went out.

ACOSTA: Right. I mean, there's the symbolism that you just referenced, John, in driving a Tesla Cybertruck up to the Trump Hotel in Vegas and blowing it up. There's also this connection, this potential, I suppose, military connection between this individual in Las Vegas and what took place in, in New Orleans. And, I mean, I know we don't have any established connections that we know about publicly at this point from official sources, but what do you make of that potential connection? I mean, that sounds like too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence.

MILLER: As a former senior member of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, both in New York and Los Angeles, the idea that you've got two people with military backgrounds, one former, one active, that they go to the same off-brand rental car company, the Turo company, to rent these exotic vehicles, that they both do attacks in tourist locations on a holiday, is the kind of coincidence that you can't say has meaning, but you can't ignore it.

So, you go into the investigation saying, well, let's disprove it. Let's investigate our way through it and find out if we can validate it or put it aside, but you certainly can't ignore it, too many factors there.

ACOSTA: Too many factors. All right, John Miller, thanks, as always. We're expected to learn more when investigators in Las Vegas give us an update. We're expecting that in the next hour. So, stay tuned for that.

We'll be right back.

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[10:25:00]

ACOSTA: Right now, House Speaker Mike Johnson is on the clock with one day left until a key vote determines whether he will keep his job. As of now, he can afford to only lose one Republican vote if every House member votes and all Democrats in the House vote against him. Even with an endorsement from President-elect Donald Trump, Johnson's future is still uncertain, something even he acknowledges.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): It's a numbers game. We have the smallest margin in U.S. history. We'll have a margin of probably two votes tomorrow during that, so can only afford to lose one or two. But I think we'll get it done. I really do, Lawrence.

I've talked to every single one of those friends and colleagues over the holidays. We'll be talking about process reforms inside the House, and I've encouraged all of them. And I think the reason they're all going to vote yes is this, we're shifting into a brand new paradigm.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ACOSTA: She has Lauren Fox joins me now with the latest. Lauren, I was reading this, this morning. This new Congress is going to be sworn in tomorrow with the narrowest House majority in nearly 100 years. Apparently, the last time it was this narrow was right before the Great Depression, which we hope there is no parallel there, but my goodness, just a few votes.

[10:30:00]

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and he has to get the speakership tomorrow in order to do the business in the next couple of days.