Richard Arnold: US Correspondent on the New Orleans attack and a Tesla that blew up in Las Vegas

Details emerging from New Orleans indicate the perpetrator acted alone in the 'horror' attack which saw him drive through a crowd of people celebrating New Years. 

A Tesla blew up outside the Trump hotel in Las Vegas yesterday, killing one and injuring seven. It is now believed the explosion was purposeful and the driver has been identified as an active duty US army soldier. 

US Correspondent Richard Arnold joins the show. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
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Speaker 2 (00:24):
Listen heading to the US Now. Good morning Richard Arnold,
Good morning Tim. New Orleans updates. Lot's going on there,
that's right.

Speaker 3 (00:32):
Latest is that the horror appears to have centered around
an attacker who operated alone. There are fifteen people dead,
thirty five others engined in what was a terrorist incident,
although the man responsible also was facing divorce and financial issues.
This attacker was forty two year old sham Shud Jabbam,
an Army vet who was eight years in the military here,

(00:55):
including a deployment in Afghanistan. He rented the truck he
used to plower the people along Bourbon Street in New
Orleans and said in a video that he had joined ISIS,
the Islamic terror group. FBI Special Agent Chris Rayam said
a short time ago that he had a black IIS
flag with him.

Speaker 4 (01:11):
We recovered an ISIS flag from the back of the vehicle.
Jabbar declared his support for the terrorist group on social media.
As I stated before, as he made his way to
New Orleans.

Speaker 3 (01:21):
So it was mayhem when the attacker drove that ready
truck into the New Year's celebration crowd, says witness.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
What we saw was insanity.

Speaker 4 (01:30):
I mean something out of a movie, the graphic nature
of it.

Speaker 3 (01:34):
Jim Mao was with his family on the side of
Burvon Street when he saw the truck speeding towards him on.

Speaker 5 (01:41):
Bourbon about a block away from Canal where the attack happened,
and so saw it from the beginning, heard it, and
were able to essentially jump out of the way, off
the off the roadway, and so the truck did miss
us by just a few seconds and a few feet.

Speaker 3 (01:58):
The driver was shooting at police as he went. I
eventually took him down. As we know, there was clearly
a deal of planning that went into this. Investigators have
found a couple of explosive devices in coolers in the area.
Video shows Jabar putting these things in place. Right now.
They are going through his telephone calls and social media,
says the FBI Special Agent of the investigation.

Speaker 4 (02:20):
We have recovered two laptops and are currently reviewing them
for any potential leads.

Speaker 3 (02:26):
So President Biden is returning to the White House from
Camp David today. He'll get updates on it all. Meantime,
the incoming President Trump jumped in with false information about
the attacker. He quoted some fake news that the truck
he used in the attack had been driven over from Mexico,
so fearmongering about the border. Instead, the truck was rented
in Texas. To this point, Trump has not offered any
correction on that score.

Speaker 2 (02:48):
Well, that's not necessarily necessarily surprising. I guess they'll be
doing a lot more digging into how he went from
being a veteran into committing such a horrendous act. Mental
health must be on the horizon, they're surely mustn't it, Richard.

Speaker 3 (02:58):
Yeah, absolutely, it seems to be quite a story. But
he's left a significant trail of information for them to
glean through, and they say the story when my change
is these investigations proceed.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
Yeah, and more on the Tesla truck that blew up
in Las Vegas.

Speaker 3 (03:13):
Yeah, this second incident also being investigated. This was a
truck that was blown up right outside the Trump Las
Vegas hotel and one man died and seven others were
injured in this deliberate explosion, and that driver has been
identified now as an active due to US Army soldier.
He was Matthew Lilsburger, and the Las Vegas truck blast

(03:34):
came just a few hours after the New Orleans incident.
So to this point, first wasn't making no connection to
what happened in New Orleans. But they are saying they're
not ruling it out.

Speaker 4 (03:43):
We're absolutely investigating any connectivity to what happened in New
Orleans as well as other attacks that have been occurring
around the world.

Speaker 2 (03:49):
We're not ruling anything out yet.

Speaker 3 (03:51):
Yeah, it's early on with all these inquiries. As it happens,
is Tesla truck, which is one of those weird shaped
vehicles of elond Musculars team designed. It looks like a
metal wedge who was rendered using the very same little
known rental apps that the New Orleans attacker used, so
that's of some interest. I guess. The vehicle was packed
with fireworks, mortars and the fuel canisters, so this again

(04:12):
is being treated to him as another possible act of terrorism.

Speaker 2 (04:16):
Didn't seem like it seemed like the most dramatic explosion
the footage I've seen was it. What was your take
when you saw the visuals on it.

Speaker 3 (04:23):
Well, it's the placing of the thing. Here. We have
this vehicle, vehicle designed by Musk and Cove for Tesla.
I'm sitting right outside the Trump Hotels. So it does
seem to be trying to convey some kind of message,
doesn't it.

Speaker 2 (04:36):
Yeah, that does. Thanks Richard. That's Richard Arnold in the US.

Speaker 1 (04:40):
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