Biden: We are investigating a possible link between the Las Vegas explosion and the New Orleans attack

US President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that authorities are investigating "whether there is any possible connection" between the explosion of a Tesla car outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas and a car-ramming attack targeting a crowd of New Year's Eve revelers in New Orleans, in an attack that left dozens dead and wounded.

Biden told reporters that law enforcement is investigating the circumstances surrounding the Tesla explosion, "including whether there is any possible connection to the New Orleans attack ," adding, "Right now, there is nothing to announce on that."

He added that the suspect in the New Orleans attack embraces the ideas of ISIS.

Biden said the FBI had told him that Shamseddine Jabbar, who was shot dead by police at the scene of the massacre, "posted videos on social media hours before he carried out his attack indicating that he was inspired by the Islamic State" jihadist group.

In a statement released by the White House, Biden confirmed that he had been briefed on the New Orleans incident by federal and local law enforcement leadership since Wednesday morning, with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, White House Homeland Security Adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall, and the mayor of New Orleans participating in these consultations.

For his part, US President-elect Donald Trump linked the New Orleans attack to illegal immigration, the issue that was the focus of his election victory.

“When I said the criminals coming into this country are far worse than the criminals in this country... it turns out that was true,” Trump wrote on social media.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed that the death toll from the attack that took place Wednesday morning in New Orleans has risen to 15 people, indicating that it is investigating it as an act of terrorism.
The New Orleans attack comes 10 days after a similar attack on a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg that killed five people and injured more than 200. German police arrested the suspected perpetrator of the attack, a Saudi national who they believe suffers from psychological disorders.

Source: American Press