Who was Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the man the FBI says planned New Orleans terror attack
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Shamsud-Din Jabbar was spotted on surveillance cameras in New Orleans about an hour before the New Year's Day attack. Photos: Courtesy of the FBI
The FBI identified the perpetrator in the New Year's Day attack in New Orleans as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old Texas man.
Zoom in: New Orleans police fatally shot Jabbar on Bourbon Street in the moments after the attack after he stepped out of his truck and opened fire. He was pronounced dead at the scene, investigators said.
- The attack killed 14 people and injured about 35 others. Read their stories.
Here's what we know about Jabbar:
Early life and military service
Jabbar grew up in Beaumont, Texas, according to the New York Times, whose reporters interviewed Jabbar's half-brother, Abdur Rahim Jabbar IV.
- Jabbar's father grew up Christian, but later converted to Islam. Jabbar converted as well, the newspaper reported.
- Later, Jabbar's mother moved him and some of his siblings to Houston, where Jabbar eventually attended the University of Houston. He lost a scholarship there because of how much he was partying at the time, his half-brother told the Times.
Jabbar's eight-year military career in the U.S. Army began by 2007, during which he made a tour to Afghanistan and earned the Global War on Terrorism medal, the New York Times says.
- After the military, Jabbar earned a degree from Georgia State University, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution reports.
Recent years
The edges of Jabbar's personal life appear to have been fraying in recent years.
- As he finalized his third divorce, Jabbar was in severe debt by 2021, according to NBC News, which detailed his financial troubles and a short-lived job as a real estate agent before he secured a job at Deloitte. The company confirmed his employment to NBC.
Jabbar was also starting to indicate more radicalized thinking, posting audio recordings online of his own Islamic teachings and stating opinions about what he described as the evils of music, according to The Times-Picayune.
The attack
Jabbar made at least two visits to New Orleans before the New Year's Day attack, FBI investigators said Sunday.
- During those visits, he recorded video of Bourbon Street while wearing Meta glasses.
- Then, in the hours just before the attack, Jabbar posted five videos to Facebook explaining that his actions were inspired by ISIS.
Originally, FBI Deputy assistant director Christopher Raia said Thursday, Jabbar indicated plans to harm his friends and family but worried headlines about the attack wouldn't focus on what Raia quoted as a "war between believers and disbelievers."
- Jabbar "was 100% inspired by ISIS," Raia said, noting that Jabbar said in the videos that he'd joined ISIS before last summer and provided a will and testament.
- Authorities contended Sunday that Jabbar acted alone, adding that there were no indications he had accomplices in the United States but they were still investigating outside of the country.
- He was in Cairo, Egypt, and Ontario, Canada, in the summer of 2023, the FBI said, and were working to confirm the purposes of those trips.