New Orleans Attacker Wore Meta Ray-Ban Glasses to Record the City

The New Orleans terrorist who killed 14 people on New Year’s Day wore Meta Ray-Bans to surreptitiously record the city streets months before the attack.

Shamsud-Din Jabbar visited New Orleans twice in the run-up to the attack; visiting on October 30 for a few days as well as a trip to the city on November 10. Jabbar cycled around the city using the smart glasses to record the streets in the French Quarter.

Jabbar wore the Meta Ray-Ban glasses while carrying out the attack in the early hours of New Year’s Day but did not activate them. Police recovered the glasses after his death.

The FBI shared footage related to the attack showing Jabbar cycling around Bourbon Street where a few months later he would create such deadly carnage. He captured multiple clips often looking left to right. Another clip shows him looking at his reflection in the mirror as he apparently tests the smart glasses.

“Meta glasses appear to look like regular glasses but they allow a user to record video and photos hands-free,” FBI New Orleans Special Agent Lyonel Myrthil tells news media.

“They also allow the user to potentially livestream through their video. Jabbar was wearing a pair of Meta glasses when he conducted the attack on Bourbon Street. But he did not activate the glasses to livestream his actions that day.”

A strategic counterterrorism expert tells NBC News that terrorists could use the discreet glasses for reconnaissance.

“You’re really getting a sense of the eyeline and eyesight and all the things that you’re going to want to look out for if you’re trying to plan an attack,” says Sam Hunter. “It’s starting to get more and more into the footage of this is what it actually looks like and feels like when you’re in that environment.”

The Ray-Ban smart glasses have been a success for Meta with CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealing that the product has been “a bigger hit sooner than we expected.” However, the glasses have faced criticism for how they could be used to invade people’s privacy. A red light indicates that the glasses are recording but it can be easily missed or covered up.

Who Was Shamsud-Din Jabbar?

Jabbar was a 42-year-old U.S. Army veteran who was raised Muslim but left the religion for many years before recently returning to the faith. In a series of videos posted online before the attack, Jabbar profession his support for ISIS.

At 3 A.M. on New Year’s Day, Jabbar drove a pick-up truck through crowds gathered on Bourbon Street in the heart of New Orleans’ French Quarter where New Year’s celebrations were well underway. He got out of the vehicle and began firing at police officers. He died following a gunfight.

As well as the fourteen people who died a further 35 were injured including two police officers who fought to take Jabbar down.

Jabbar had also placed two IEDs in coolers on Bourbon Street; the FBI released footage of him placing them on New Year’s Day. But the bombs didn’t explode as Jabbar didn’t have access to the detonator that was later recovered from his vehicle.