Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News
Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
ATF National Response Team (NRT) completed their investigation of the fire scene at 1329 Mandeville St., New Orleans.
ATF determined Jabbar was at the residence alone the entire time and left at 12:15am to complete the attack.
Jabbar set the fire using an open flame (matches) just before he left. The fire was started in the linen closet next to the washer and dryer. This is a closed-off area of the hallway that leads to other rooms of the residence.
Jabbar placed accelerants in the other rooms of the residence which we believe was intentional so that the entire residence would burn down in an attempt to destroy evidence of his crimes.
We can confirm the fire was still growing as the Nest thermostat switched over from heating mode to cooling mode as the temperature continued to rise in the residence. Eventually the fire extinguished itself as it ran out of oxygen and fuel in this closed off portion of the residence and never connected to the accelerants placed in the other rooms.
At 5:18am, a neighbor called 911 as they smelled smoke. New Orleans Fire responded and put the smoldering fire out and observed evidence in the residence so they alerted law enforcement. ATF and FBI secured the location at this point.
ATF completed urgent traces for the semiautomatic 9mm pistol and semiautomatic rifle recovered from Jabbar.
ATF contacted the individual the rifle belonged to and the individual stated they completed a transaction with Jabbar on November 19, 2024, in Arlington, Texas, and that’s how Jabbar came into possession of the rifle.
The individual does not know Jabbar and met him this one time. The individual had no knowledge of the pending attack or JABBAR’s radicalization.
The privately made silencers will be classified by ATF Firearms and Ammunition Technology Division (FATD). One of the silencers was attached to the rifle as Jabbar attempted to muffle the sound when he fired the weapon. Another silencer was recovered at the Mandeville Street residence.
ATF and FBI special agent bomb techs (SABTs) used a field chemical identifier and determined the material recovered at the Mandeville Street address to likely be r-salt explosive. R-salt is not commonly available or used in the U.S. R-salt is very similar in look and chemical makeup to RDX explosive material, which is readily available in the U.S.
FBI recovered explosive materials they field tested from Jabbar residence, which was determined to be RDX. We believe that after the lab tests all these materials, the materials will conclusively be determined to be true RDX.
The IED in of itself is not unique. The abnormality is that Jabbar used an explosive material that is set off by a detonator. Detonators are not easily accessible by the common citizen, so usually homemade bombs are made with explosive material that is set off by a flame.
The flame is created by an electric match or hobby fuse. Electric matches and hobby fuses are readily accessible to the common person.
Jabbar used explosive material better suited for a detonator, but he didn’t have access to one, so he used an electric match to set the explosives off. Jabbar’s lack of experience and crude nature of putting the device together is the reason why he used the wrong device to set the explosives off.
All the materials used by Jabbar are readily available in the U.S. except for the r-salt, but the FBI lab is likely going to rule that material recovered at the Mandeville Street address is the one in the same as the RDX material recovered at Jabbar Houston residence.