According to authorities, 42-year-old Army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove a rented pickup truck into a Bourbon Street crowd in New Orleans on New Year’s Day (Jan. 1), killing 15 people and injuring dozens more. As reported by The Associated Press on Thursday (Jan. 2), Jabbar posted videos online professing admiration for the Islamic State and expressing his intent to kill hours before the tragic event. The FBI is treating it as a terrorist attack and investigating whether Jabbar acted alone.

ABC News revealed information about some of the lives lost. Among the victims was 18-year-old Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux, an aspiring nursing student remembered by her mother, Melissa Dedeaux, as a kind and outgoing young woman. Another victim, 27-year-old Tiger Bech, was a former Princeton University football player who came to the city’s French Quarter after a weekend meetup with college buddies. The attack also claimed the life of 37-year-old Reggie Hunter, a father of two and warehouse manager known as the “life of the party.”

Officials stated that Jabbar was seen bypassing blockades and driving onto a sidewalk moments before the massacre took place. Police shot and killed him after he exited the vehicle and opened fire, injuring two officers during the fracas. Investigators recovered firearms, improvised explosive devices, and an Islamic State flag from his vehicle.

The chaos extended beyond New Orleans, as explosions were subsequently reported in Honolulu and outside a Las Vegas hotel owned by President-elect Donald Trump. The FBI is probing potential connections but has yet to confirm any links. “This is not just an act of terrorism. This is evil,” said New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick, noting that Jabbar circumvented security measures designed to protect pedestrians.

President Joe Biden called the incident a “despicable” and “heinous act.” “I want you to know I grieve with you,” he added. “Our nation grieves with you as you mourn and as you heal.”