Authorities Investigate Possible New Orleans, Vegas Link

As twin investigations continue into Wednesday's truck attack in New Orleans and the detonation of a Tesla in Las Vegas, NBC News reports that authorities are investigating whether the suspects in both cases have a military connection. However, authorities stress it's too early to draw any conclusions about a possible link between the two events. One known similarity: Both vehicles were rented through the Turo car-sharing app. Details:

• The New Orleans suspect, who was killed in a shootout with police, is Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42. Jabbar served about eight years in the Army before an honorable discharge, per the New York Times. Authorities say the US national and Texas resident was flying an ISIS flag from the pickup he drove through a crowd on Bourbon Street.

• The person killed in the Tesla Cybertruck detonation outside a Trump hotel, who hasn't been identified, also had some kind of military experience, law enforcement sources tell NBC, but no further details were released.
• On Wednesday, President Biden told reporters that law enforcement in Las Vegas was investigating "whether there is any possible connection to the attack in New Orleans," per the Times. Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said that "we are absolutely investigating any connectivity to what happened in New Orleans, as well as other attacks that have been occurring around the world," adding, "We aren't ruling anything out," per the AP.
• Both vehicles were rented through the Turo app, which allows individuals to rent their vehicles to people registered on the site, per the Hill and the New York Post. The app boasts that it's the "world's largest car sharing workplace." Renters need to have valid ID, including a driver's license.
• The "concept is similar to Airbnb, in that customers can rent a specific car make and model and coordinate pickup and drop-off with the car owner," per a New York Times explainer. The company says about 3.5 million people have rented a vehicle through the app over the past year.
• "We are heartbroken to learn that one of our host's vehicles was involved in this awful incident," said a company spokesperson after the New Orleans attack. "We are actively partnering with the FBI. We are not currently aware of anything in this guest's background that would have identified him as a trust and safety threat to us at the time of the reservation."

(More New Orleans stories.)