New Orleans attack latest: No evidence at this time suspect had contact with ISIS, officials say

There is no evidence at this time that Shamsud-Din Jabbar had been in contact with a direct ISIS representative, U.S. officials tell ABC News.

The officials noted that two days after this incident there has been no claim of responsibility by ISIS.

One official cautioned that the investigation is still early, but that at this time they are not seeing evidence that he reached out to ISIS or that he was contacted by them. Another official said they are still working through the suspect's three phones, two laptops and examining his travel as the investigation continues.

The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms concluded that Shamsud-Din Jabbar set a small fire in the hallway of the property in New Orleans he rented using "strategically placed accelerants throughout the house in his effort to destroy it and other evidence of his crime," according to an investigative update from the FBI and ATF.

"After Jabbar left the residence, the fire burned to a point that it extinguished itself, prior to spreading to other rooms," according to the statement released Friday night. "The ATF investigation revealed that when the NOFD arrived at the scene, the fire was smoldering, allowing for the recovery of evidence, including pre-cursors for bomb making material and a privately made device suspected of being a silencer for a rifle."

Authorities recovered a transmitter that was to be used to detonate two explosive devices placed in coolers in Bourbon Street, President Joe Biden said Thursday,

All of the evidence has been recovered from the rental property, including bomb making materials, according to the FBI and ATF.

"FBI special agents located similar materials at the search of Jabbar's home on Crescent Peak Drive in Houston, Texas," they said.

The transmitter, along with two firearms connected to Jabbar, is being transported to the FBI laboratory for additional testing as well as clothing and shell casings from the truck, according to the FBI and ATF.

Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the suspected Bourbon Street attacker, traveled to Egypt in 2023 for about a month, his half-brother told ABC News.

Abdur Jabbar, 24, said Shamsud went to Egypt alone, telling his family he was going "because it was cheap and beautiful." His half-brother provided a photo to ABC News showing gifts Shamsud brought back from the trip, including three rings, tea and a wooden box.

Law enforcement officials tell ABC News the suspect's foreign travel is a part of the ongoing investigation.

Investigators, according to multiple sources, are digging in to determine what the attacker did during his travel in Egypt, why he went and who he interacted with while there. Critical to the probe is whether Din Jabbar had been radicalized prior to the travel or if the travel marked the start of his radicalization.

"This next most important phase of the investigation is to find out how that radicalization happened and if it happened on that trip. That' s priority No. 1," Orleans Parish DA Jason Williams told ABC News.

Officials said the first 24 hours after the ramming attack were occupied by a feverish effort to determine whether there were additional suspects on the loose or if Din Jabbar worked with accomplices.

Since Thursday, investigators have been focused on piecing together his path to radicalization and the events that led up to his decision to attack the Bourbon Street.

"The picture is getting less pixelated," one investigator explained. "But it's slow going."

On Monday, January 6, the President and First Lady will travel to New Orleans, Louisiana.

The President and First Lady will grieve with the families and community members impacted by the tragic attack on January 1 and meet with officials on the ground.