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President Donald Trump spoke out on Wednesday after at least 15 people were killed and dozens more were injured in New Orleans terrorist truck attack.
Trump blasted the criminal actions and expressed support for victims, their families and the city’s police officers.
“When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats and the Fake News Media, but it turned out to be true. The crime rate in our country is at a level that nobody has ever seen before,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“Our hearts are with all of the innocent victims and their loved ones, including the brave officers of the New Orleans Police Department. The Trump Administration will fully support the City of New Orleans as they investigate and recover from this act of pure evil!” he added.
The attack in New Orleans occurred at about 4:15 a.m. Eastern time early Wednesday during the city’s New Year’s Eve celebrations. The New Orleans Police Department reported that the suspect opened fire on officers after their vehicle, a Ford pickup truck, was stopped.
The FBI stated that an ISIS flag, weapons, and a potential IED were discovered in the vehicle. The vehicle was reportedly rented from the car-sharing app Turo.
The FBI identified the driver as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, an American citizen from Texas, the Associated Press reported. The agency is investigating other potential people who may have also been associated with the suspect’s actions.
The driver reportedly ran over several individuals on a sidewalk, driving around a police car that was positioned to block vehicles. His vehicle was soon stopped and he reportedly exited the vehicle and opened fire before being killed by police.
Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy also released a statement cited by the AP, saying, “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,” U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, said. “If this doesn’t trigger the gag reflex of every American, every fair-minded American, I’ll be very surprised.”