US President Joe Biden said on Thursday (Jan 2) that a remote detonator for unused explosives was found in the truck of the suspect involved in the New Orleans attack on Wednesday. The attacker had planted explosives in two nearby locations in the French Quarter a few hours before the attack.

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Biden said he was briefed about the incident by the FBI and was informed that the attacker had a remote detonator that could have set off explosives planted in two ice chests in the French Quarter.

“The FBI briefed me that as of now, we have no information that anyone else was involved in the attack,” Biden said during an address at the White House. 

Also read | New Orleans truck attack: what we know about the attacker, Shamsud-din Bahar Jabbar

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“They’ve established that the attacker is the same person who planted the explosives in those ice coolers in two nearby locations in the French Quarter just a few hours before he rammed into the crowd with his vehicle,” he added. “They assessed he had a remote detonator in his vehicle to set off those two ice chests.”

Following Wednesday’s attack, Biden said that he would try to visit New Orleans.

No evidence to suggest foreign involvement yet

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Biden also said the investigators “are actively investigating any foreign or domestic contacts and connections that could possibly be relevant to the attack.”

However, so far the White House has seen no evidence that suggests any foreign direction or involvement in the attack, CNN reported citing a source.

Also read | Who were the victims of New Orleans attack?

President Biden also said there’s “no information that anyone else was involved” in the New Orleans terrorist attack nor evidence of its connection to the Las Vegas truck explosion.

Although earlier FBI officials had said that they did not believe that only the 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar was involved in the attack, they later said that the evidence does not point that anyone else was involved.

What happened in New Orleans attack?

On Wednesday (Jan 1), a man, identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, intentionally rammed a vehicle into a crowd during the New Year’s celebrations in New Orleans's Bourbon Street. The attack killed at least 14 people and injured dozens of others. 

The FBI has confirmed that the attack was an act of terrorism. The suspect, a US citizen from Texas, died in a shootout with police.

Reportedly, a year earlier, the accused had expressed extreme religious views through recordings that he posted on the SoundCloud platform.

In the audios, he said that music, sex, intoxicants and other pleasures were evils that deserved destruction.

(With inputs from agencies)