MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
We begin this hour in New Orleans, where the city is still reeling after a deadly New Year's Day attack. Today, state and local officials assured people the city is safe. And after reviewing more evidence, the FBI says it seems clear the attacker acted alone. NPR's Jennifer Ludden joins us from New Orleans with the latest. Hey, there.
JENNIFER LUDDEN, BYLINE: Hi.
KELLY: Start with that last point, which is a change. Yesterday, officials had said they did believe the attacker might have been - had others involved. Why did they say that's not the case?
LUDDEN: Well, remember that not far from the attack site, on Bourbon Street, officials had found two coolers with improvised explosive devices in them, and they had said there was video of other people putting them there. Well, today, they said they have now seen that, in fact, it was the attacker, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who placed those IEDs. And the other people were just passersby looking into the coolers. Also, officials say, after watching more video and looking at social media and interviewing hundreds of people, there is no evidence anyone helped him. So with all this new information, Bourbon Street reopened this afternoon.
KELLY: And then what about motive, Jennifer? Have we learned anything more about what may have motivated the suspect to carry out this rampage?
LUDDEN: Well, in a briefing today, the FBI's Christopher Wray has said the attacker posted five videos to his Facebook account in the hours leading up to the rampage. And in them, he said he had joined the terror group ISIS before this past summer. He had a will and testament, and there was this.
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CHRISTOPHER WRAY: In the first video, Jabbar explains he originally planned to harm his family and friends but was concerned the news headlines would not focus on the, quote, "war between the believers and the disbelievers," end quote.
LUDDEN: Now, Wray says they still wanted to learn more about why he then picked New Orleans to attack. And I will add that, separately, we are learning that Jabbar had a history of divorce and serious financial troubles.
KELLY: So all these questions - this whole massive investigation is happening today amid big crowds for the college football playoff. This is between University of Georgia and Notre Dame - the Sugar Bowl. It was supposed to happen yesterday. It got moved to today. How are people who you're meeting there - how are they feeling about the security situation?
LUDDEN: Well, you know, they are the ones who decided to stay. Kimmie and Bud Hoaglin traveled here from Fort Lauderdale. She's a Georgia alum. They were to have left this morning, but they did - and they did consider security.
KIMMIE HOAGLIN: After thinking about it, we just decided that we would stay and cheer them on. And what my husband says is, you know what, they win if you're afraid, and you don't just keep on living.
LUDDEN: I also spoke with Don Verdin and his son. They were here from Cincinnati and all decked out in Fighting Irish gear. Verdin says he feels awful about what happened, but he does figure the Superdome is even safer now.
DON VERDIN: I've, you know, seen a lot of police presence around. You know, we've been watching the news, so we've kind of heard what they've done about the Superdome and the security around there, so I have no issues.
LUDDEN: Plus, Verdin said he was a senior at Notre Dame back in the 1981 Sugar Bowl when the Fighting Irish played Georgia and lost big time.
KELLY: OK, so he's looking for payback. So where do things go next - next steps, Jennifer, for the city and the investigation?
LUDDEN: Well, the FBI says it still has a ton of work. It wants to know more about the attacker's path to radicalization. It's asking anyone who knows him or ever knew him to please come forward and be interviewed. And as for New Orleans, you know, they've got Mardi Gras, and they're hosting the Super Bowl next month. And there's been a long debate here about safety on Bourbon Street amid big crowds. We're just going to have to see what changes they make to assure people of that.
KELLY: NPR's Jennifer Ludden in New Orleans. Thank you.
LUDDEN: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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