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US army veteran, IT specialist: What we know about the New Orleans truck attack
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US army veteran, IT specialist: What we know about the New Orleans truck attack suspect
The New Orleans truck attack suspect, identified by the FBI as 42-year-old US citizen Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was an army veteran who served as an IT specialist before earning a bachelor’s degree in computer systems. He was twice-married and experienced financial difficulties, according to divorce papers.
Hours after a truck ploughed into a crowd of New Year’s Day revellers in New Orleans, killing 15 people, the FBI identified the driver as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a US citizen from Texas.
Details have begun to emerge of Jabbar’s life and are being closely examined by investigators seeking clues for a motive behind the attack. The FBI said it was working to determine if Jabbar had any potential associations with terrorist organisations.
US President Joe Biden told reporters that, hours before the attack, Jabbar shared videos online that indicated he was “inspired by ISIS”, referring to the Islamic State (IS) group.
A black flag linked to the group was also found in the vehicle used in the attack, the FBI said.
US army service, struggles to acclimate to civilian life
In a video posted on YouTube four years ago, Jabbar – speaking with a southern US accent – boasted of his skills as a “fierce negotiator” as he advertised his property management services to potential clients.The Pentagon said Jabbar had served in the army as a human resource specialist and an IT specialist from 2007 to 2015, and then in the army reserve until 2020.
He deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 until January 2010, an army spokesperson said, adding that he held the rank of Staff Sergeant at the end of his service. Earlier the FBI had said it believed he was honorably discharged.
Jabbar enrolled in Georgia State University in 2015 and received a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems in 2017, according to the New York Times.
In a 2015 article in the Georgia State student paper about the challenges of college life, Jabbar said he had struggled to acclimate to civilian life after leaving the military.
He also appears to have worked in real estate, holding a licence that expired in 2021. He had a criminal record, relating to traffic offences and theft.
Criminal records reported by US news organisations show that Jabbar had two previous charges for minor offences – one in 2002 for theft and another in 2005 for driving with an invalid license.
Divorces and financial difficulties
Jabbar was twice-married, according to US news reports, with his second marriage ending in divorce in 2022, when he detailed experiencing financial problems in an email to his wife’s lawyer.“I cannot afford the house payment,” he reportedly wrote, adding that his real estate company had lost more than $28,000 in the previous year, and that he had taken on thousands in credit card debt to pay for lawyers.
In a neighbourhood in north Houston, a neighbour of Jabbar’s ex-wife told The Washington Post that FBI agents had been to her home earlier in the day. Dwayne Marsh, who is married to Jabbar’s ex-wife, said she and Jabbar had two daughters, ages 14 and 20.
Marsh told the Post that Jabbar had converted to Islam, but he did not specify when and declined to comment further.
FBI officially identifies Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Texas, as the driver in the New Orleans ramming attack. An ISIS flag was in the vehicle, where weapons and a potential IED were found, the Bureau says. pic.twitter.com/KGEwoIM4P5
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) January 1, 2025
‘Dotting I’s and crossing T’s’ in military service
In the YouTube video posted in 2020, which has since been taken down, Jabbar spoke highly about his time serving in the US military.He introduced himself as a property manager and real estate salesman, and said he was born and raised in Beaumont, a southeastern Texas city.
“I’ve been here all my life,” he said in the video. He also provided details about military service that matched the records released by the Pentagon on Wednesday.
In the military, he said in the video, “I learned the meaning of great service and what it means to be responsive and take everything seriously, dotting I’s and crossing T’s to make sure that things go off without a hitch.”
Shortly after crashing into a crowd on Bourbon Street in the heart of New Orleans early Wednesday, Jabbar got into a shootout with the police, authorities said. He was pronounced dead soon after, and authorities warned that they believed the suspect may have had accomplices.
The FBI said that in addition to the IS group flag, they found weapons and a potential improvised explosive device in the attacker’s truck, which appeared to be a rented Ford. Other explosive devices were located elsewhere in the French Quarter, the FBI said.
“We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible,” Alethea Duncan, FBI assistant special agent in charge in New Orleans, told reporters at a news briefing Wednesday afternoon. “We are aggressively running down every lead, including those of his known associates.”
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