The attacker of the New Year’s Eve attack in New Orleans visited Louisiana twice in the months before the attack and wore Meta smart glasses as well as during the incident itself, the FBI said.

Shamsud-Deen Jabbar also traveled to Egypt and Canada in 2023, though it is not yet clear if those trips are connected to the case, authorities said.

Fourteen people were killed and at least 35 others injured when a gunman drove his vehicle through crowds in the French Quarter in an attack that US officials said was inspired by the Islamic State (IS) group.

Hours before the attack, Jabbar had planted two improvised explosive devices on Bourbon Street. A detonator intended to detonate them was found in his vehicle, the FBI added.

But the bombs did not explode because Jabbar did not have access to the detonator, investigators said.

Bomb-making materials were also found at a nearby Airbnb where the attacker was staying, as well as at his home in Houston, Texas. In fact, he tried to burn down the Airbnb by setting fire to a hallway, but the flames were extinguished before firefighters arrived.

The white Ford he was driving was electric and was rented from the Turo platform six weeks earlier.