Mayorkas Says US Facing Complex Threat Landscape Following New Orleans Attack

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speaks on Capitol Hill, on April 18, 2024. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

The United States is facing a “heightened threat environment” following the deadly New Orleans attack on New Year’s Day, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on Jan. 5.

The attack left 14 people dead and dozens injured after a man drove a truck into crowds on Bourbon Street in the historic French Quarter of the city. The suspect, identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar of Texas, was later killed in a shoot-out with police.

In an interview on ABC’s “This Week,” Mayorkas said that his office has worked with law enforcement in New Orleans and implemented sweeping precautionary measures for the Sugar Bowl college football game and other upcoming events in the wake of the incident.

Mayorkas stated that over the past 10 years, his office has observed “a significant increase in what we term homegrown violent extremism” in the United States.

“It is a very difficult threat landscape, and it is why that we as a community, not just the federal government, but state and local officials and residents, need to be alert to it and take the precautions necessary to avoid violence from occurring,” he told the news outlet.

Mayorkas said that the New Orleans attack was unrelated to border issues, citing the suspect’s U.S. citizenship.

Jabbar was a 42-year-old former U.S. Army soldier from Texas.

“The assailant who perpetrated the terrorist attack in New Orleans was born in the United States, raised in the United States, and served in our Armed Forces. It is not an issue of the border,” Mayorkas said. “With respect to the border, our highest responsibility and one that we work to fulfill each and every day throughout the Department of Homeland Security, throughout the federal government, is the safety and security of the American people.”

Authorities said they found an ISIS flag on the hitch of the truck used by the suspect. The FBI also said that Jabbar posted videos on Facebook in the hours before the attack in which he proclaimed his support for the terrorist group.

President-elect Donald Trump had previously condemned the New Orleans attack as an “act of pure evil” and suggested that it was connected to the country’s border issues.

“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,” Trump stated on Truth Social.

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will travel to New Orleans on Monday to “grieve with the families and community members impacted by the tragic attack,” according to a White House statement.