A US Army veteran driving a pickup truck with the flag of the Islamic State organization wreaked havoc on New Orleans’ rowdy New Year’s celebration, killing 15 people as he sped under a police barrier and slammed into revelers before being shot dead by police.

The FBI said it was examining the early Wednesday attack as a terrorist act and did not believe the driver was acting alone. Investigators discovered weapons and what seemed to be an improvised explosive device in the truck, as well as other explosives scattered about the city’s historic French Quarter.

President Joe Biden announced Wednesday evening that the FBI discovered recordings on social media that the driver had posted hours before the incident, in which he claimed to be inspired by the Islamic State group and showed a wish to kill.

The rampage transformed the joyous Bourbon Street into a grisly scene of mutilated victims, mangled bodies, and people fleeing for safety inside nightclubs and restaurants. In addition to the fatalities, many of individuals were injured. A college football playoff game at the neighboring Superdome has been postponed until Thursday.

Zion Parsons, 18, of Gulfport, Mississippi, claims he saw the truck “barreling through, throwing people like in a movie scene, throwing people into the air.”

“Bodies, bodies all up and down the street, everybody screaming and hollering,” recalled Parsons, who lost a friend, Nikyra Dedeaux.

“This is more than just an act of terrorism. “This is evil,” New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick stated.

According to Kirkpatrick, the driver “defeated” safety mechanisms designed to safeguard pedestrians and was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did.”

The FBI identified the driver as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old American citizen from Texas, and stated it was investigating any possible links to terrorist organizations.

“We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible,” stated FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan at a news conference.

Investigators discovered numerous improvised devices, including two pipe bombs hidden inside coolers and rigged for remote explosion, according to a Louisiana State Police intelligence bulletin acquired by The Associated Press.

The bulletin, which was based on preliminary information gathered shortly after the attack, also cited surveillance footage that it claimed showed three men and a woman placing one of the devices, but federal officials did not immediately confirm that detail, and it was unclear who they were or what connection they had to the attack, if any.

Jabbar drove a leased pickup truck onto a sidewalk, avoiding a police cruiser stationed to obstruct vehicular traffic, according to authorities. A barrier system designed to deter car attacks was being repaired in advance of the Super Bowl in February.

Jabbar was slain by police after exiting the truck and shooting at responding policemen, according to Kirkpatrick. Three officers returned fire. Two people were shot and are in stable condition.

Investigators seized a handgun and an AR-style rifle, according to a law enforcement officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.

There were also fatal blasts in Honolulu and outside a Las Vegas hotel owned by President-elect Donald Trump. Biden stated that the FBI was investigating whether the Las Vegas explosion was linked to the New Orleans bombing, but had “nothing to report” as of Wednesday evening.

A photo circulated among law enforcement officials shows a bearded Jabbar in camouflage standing next to the truck after he was killed. The AP got an intelligence alert stating that he was wearing a ballistic vest and helmet. The Islamic State group’s flag was found on the truck’s trailer hitch, the FBI reported.

“For those people who don’t believe in objective evil, all you have to do is look at what happened in our city early this morning,” said Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy. “If this doesn’t trigger the gag reflex of every American, every fair-minded American, I’ll be very surprised.”

Jabbar joined the Army in 2007, serving on active duty in human resources and information technology before deploying to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010. He joined the Army Reserve in 2015 and left in 2020, with the rank of staff sergeant.

Hours after the incident, many coroner’s office vans were parked on the corner of Bourbon and Canal streets, roped off by police tape, with throngs of shocked visitors milling around, some attempting to manage their bags through the maze of blockades.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry recommended people to avoid the area, which was still a crime scene.

“We looked out our front door and saw caution tape and dead silence, and it’s eerie,” said Tessa Cundiff, an Indiana native who relocated to the French Quarter a few years ago. “This is not what we fell in love with, it’s sad.”

Nearby, life continued as usual in the city famed to some for its motto, which translates to “let the good times roll.” People rushed into a cafe a block from where the truck had stopped for breakfast while lively pop music played. Two streets away, people drank in a tavern, as if nothing had happened.

Biden, speaking from the presidential retreat at Camp David, described the incident as “despicable” and “heinous act.” Addressing the victims and the residents of New Orleans, he stated, “I want you to know that I am grieving alongside you. Our nation is with you in your grief and healing.”

“My heart goes out to the victims and their families, who were simply trying to celebrate the holiday,” Biden added in a previous written statement. “There is no justification for violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation’s communities.”

The incident is the latest example of a vehicle being used as a weapon to commit mass atrocity, as well as the worst IS-inspired assault on US territory in years.

The FBI has consistently warned that the Israel-Hamas conflict has increased the possibility of international terrorism. In the last year, the agency has foiled other potential assaults, such as arresting an Afghan man in Oklahoma in October for an alleged Election Day plot targeting huge crowds.