New Year's wave of terror: Events in US and Montenegro that shock world

USA

Car drives into crowd in New Orleans

In New Orleans, a white Ford pickup truck sped into a crowd on Bourbon Street - a popular tourist spot for New Year's celebrations. After the collision, the driver exited the vehicle and opened fire, prompting police to respond with gunfire. Two policemen were injured during the shooting, ABC News reports.

Authorities believe the driver deliberately targeted the crowd to cause maximum harm. According to the latest reports, 15 people were killed, and 35 were injured, most of them locals. The attacker was reportedly killed during the shootout.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell called the incident a terrorist attack. The FBI stated it is investigating the events as a terrorist act, though initially, the Bureau did not classify the incident as terrorism.

New Orleans Police Department spokesperson Anne Kirkpatrick said the suspect "intended to harm as many people as possible." According to her, the individual was "obsessed with causing bloodshed and harm."

The FBI identified the suspect as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old US citizen from Texas who had previously served in Afghanistan. Investigators confirmed he was born in the United States and held citizenship by birth.

Officials found an ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria - ed.) flag in the suspect's vehicle. He had bypassed improvised barriers near the sidewalk and driven into the crowded district. Authorities are investigating whether the attack was carried out with accomplices and are examining potential ties between the suspect and terrorist groups.

Police discovered weapons and a potential explosive device in the car, as well as two other possible explosive devices in the French Quarter, which were later defused.

According to US President Joe Biden, the attacker had posted a video on social media indicating he was inspired by ISIS ideology and driven by a "desire to kill."

Photo: Part of the French Quarter is blocked off after the mass killing of people (Getty Images)

President-elect Donald Trump, who will become US president this month, also reacted to the extraordinary event. On social media, he called the incident in New Orleans "an act of pure evil."

Local authorities, in turn, urged citizens to avoid the Bourbon Street area. Meanwhile, world leaders are expressing their support for the Americans en masse.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on the social network X that "Ukraine is shocked by the news of the attack in New Orleans, which killed innocent people and injured many more." He expressed hope that those responsible for this terrible attack would be brought to justice.

Explosion of Tesla Cybertruck near Trump Hotel in Las Vegas

Just hours after the New Orleans attack, a Tesla Cybertruck exploded and caught fire near the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas. The incident resulted in the death of the driver and injuries to seven others.

Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill reported that the vehicle had been rented through the car-sharing service Turo in Colorado. While the identity of the renter was established, it was not immediately confirmed whether he was the driver who died in the incident.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk provided video evidence to investigators showing the vehicle parked in the Trump Hotel parking lot for 15–20 seconds before the explosion.

Photo: Cybertruck after the explosion near the Trump International Hotel (Getty Images)

Musk believes the explosion could have been a terrorist attack. In particular, he drew attention to the fact that the Ford pickup truck that drove into the crowd in New Orleans and this Tesla Cybertruck were rented through the same vehicle rental platform.

Tesla's internal investigation suggested that the explosion was caused by fireworks or a bomb in the cabin and was unrelated to the vehicle itself.

However, Sheriff McMahill stated that police would investigate any connection between the two events. Which is what Biden talked about when speaking on television on Wednesday evening.

Police discovered pyrotechnics and gasoline canisters in the electric vehicle. Surveillance footage showed the car passing the Trump Hotel an hour before the explosion, then returning, parking by the entrance, and exploding seconds later.

As of now, law enforcement has not yet found a connection between these incidents. The FBI, however, believes that the Cybertruck explosion was an isolated incident and no longer poses a threat to the public, CNN reports.

According to McMahill, pyrotechnics and gasoline canisters were indeed found in the electric car. After reviewing surveillance footage, police also determined that the vehicle drove past the Trump Hotel an hour before the explosion, then turned around, stopped at the entrance - and within seconds, caught fire and exploded.

This morning, KTNV-TV reported that police had identified the suspect in the Tesla Cybertruck bombing in Las Vegas as 37-year-old Matthew Livelsberger, who previously served in the US Army.

The channel, citing federal sources, added that because the suspect in Las Vegas and the suspect in the deadly attack in New Orleans served in the military, the FBI is investigating a connection between them.

Shooting near nightclub in New York City

Another incident occurred in New York City on January 1. Around 11:20 p.m. local time, a mass shooting took place outside a nightclub called Amazura, located near the Jamaica Long Island Rail Road station in Queens.

The New York Post, citing sources and the NYPD, reported that at least 11 people, mostly teenagers, were injured. A group of four men fired approximately 30 shots into a crowd leaving the club after a private event.

Victims were taken to local hospitals, with none in critical condition. The Amazura nightclub, with a capacity of 4,000, regularly hosts DJ performances and live events.

Police are searching for a gray Infiniti in connection with the shooting and have identified a white BMW that may have been involved. The suspects remain unidentified.

Montenegro

Massacre in Cetinje

A terrible event also occurred on January 1 in Montenegro, where at least 12 people, including two children, were killed in a shooting in the city of Cetinje. Four others were injured. Preliminary reports suggest a domestic dispute in a local bar triggered the tragedy.

The attacker has been identified as 45-year-old Aco Martinović. According to a report by the local media RTCG, Martinović was known for his odd behavior and had previously been detained for illegal possession of weapons. In 2005, he received a suspended one-year sentence for aggressive behavior but was not treated as a security threat.

In 2022, Martinović was found in possession of weapons and explosives, for which he was sentenced to three months in prison.

Preliminary information indicates that on January 1, 2025, after quarreling with one of the visitors at the bar, Martinović went home, retrieved a weapon, returned, and shot the bar owner and several other people. He then continued his shooting spree in the streets.

According to the local prosecutor's office, the killings occurred in five different locations around the city. Among the victims were members of Martinović's own family and the family of the bar owner, including two children.

The suspect fled the crime scene and attempted to take his own life during his capture. He died of his injuries on the way to the hospital.

The President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatovic, reacted to the tragedy, expressing that he was "shocked and overwhelmed" by the events.

"Instead of festive joy… we are enveloped in grief over the loss of innocent lives," Milatović wrote on social media platform X.

Prime Minister Milojko Spajić visited the hospital where the injured were being treated and declared three days of mourning from January 2 to 4, canceling all public events.

Media reports noted that Montenegro, a small country with a population of about 620,000, has a culture of carrying firearms, and many people carry them regularly.

The January 1, 2025, shooting is the second such incident in Cetinje in recent years. In August 2022, another attacker killed 10 people before being shot dead by a passerby.

Spajić announced that the National Security Council would convene to discuss, among other measures, the complete prohibition of firearm ownership.

Earlier, on the evening of December 20, a car drove into a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, killing five people, including a 9-year-old child, and injuring more than 200 others (including a Ukrainian victim).

Authorities are investigating the detained driver - a 50-year-old Saudi Arabian psychiatrist. He has lived in Germany for nearly two decades and was arrested at the scene. Police have not disclosed the suspect's name, but German journalists identified him as Taleb A.

Sources: ABC News, CNN, BBC, KTNV-TV, New York Post, RTCG.