Public Safety Minister David McGuinty says the Canada Border Services Agency has confirmed that the man behind the deadly truck attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans travelled to Ontario in July 2023.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation says it's investigating the movements of Shamsud-Din Jabbar in the lead-up to the New Year's truck attack that killed 14 people, revealing Sunday that Jabbar travelled to Ontario for a few days in 2023.
A statement from McGuinty on Sunday says Canada's border agency confirmed that Jabbar travelled to Canada from Houston, Texas, for four days before returning to the U.S in 2023.
FBI special agent Lyonel Myrthil says the investigation is now "crossing state and international borders," as law enforcement pieces together Jabbar's pre-attack movements.
Myrthil says Jabbar was in Cairo, Egypt for about two weeks in late June and early July 2023, and flew to Ontario on July 10 before returning to the U.S. on July 13.
He says agents are trying to figure out where he went on his travels and who he may have met during the trips, and whether his travels had any links to the deadly attack in New Orleans' famed tourist destination.
The bureau revealed that Jabbar visited New Orleans in October and November for unknown reasons, and went to "multiple gun stores" in Texas before travelling to Louisiana on New Year's Eve.
McGuinty said Sunday that he encourages "anyone who may have come into contact with the attacker and who may have information pertinent to the FBI’s investigation to reach out to the appropriate law enforcement authorities."
"Canadian authorities will continue to work with their American counterparts, including the FBI, as they pursue their investigation,” McGuinty's statement said.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Ontario Provincial Police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service did not immediately respond to requests for comment about Jabbar's 2023 travels to Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 5, 2025.
Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press
