A U.S. Army veteran from Texas who drove to Louisiana and intentionally plowed into New Year’s revelers in New Orleans recorded movies throughout the drive addressed to his household, during which he talked about plans to kill them and instructed them he had joined ISIS.
“I wished to document this message for my household,” Shamsud-Din Jabbar mentioned within the movies. “I wished you to know that I joined ISIS earlier this 12 months.”
He then added: “I don’t need you to assume I spared you willingly.”
He instructed his household that he had first wished to prepare a “celebration” for them and make everybody “witness the killing of the apostates,” an obvious reference to killing them.
A senior regulation enforcement official, talking on situation of anonymity to debate delicate info, confirmed to NBC News the contents of the movies, which have been first reported by The New York Times. NBC News has not independently reviewed the movies.
Jabbar, 42, drove a rented truck from Houston to New Orleans on New Year’s Eve, authorities mentioned, posting movies on-line alongside the way in which. Once he reached New Orleans’ well-known Bourbon Street, he planted two improvised explosive gadgets after which bought again into his truck and plowed into revelers at round 3:15 a.m., killing 14 folks earlier than police killed him in a shootout.
Experts mentioned the main points which have emerged about Jabbar align with the standard sample of how a veteran could be radicalized to violence.
In the years main as much as Wednesday’s assault, Jabbar skilled his third divorce, gathered important debt and misplaced his company job. Divorce courtroom information from January 2022 reveal he was dealing with enterprise losses and bank card debt within the tens of 1000’s of {dollars}, together with greater than $27,000 in overdue mortgage funds. By August of that 12 months, his financial institution accounts held simply $2,012, in keeping with filings within the case.
While it might not have stunned consultants, Jabbar’s rampage has bewildered his household, buddies and colleagues, who described him as sort and unassuming.
“It’s an entire shock, a shock to everybody,” Jabbar’s half brother, Abdur-Rahim Jabbar IV, 24, mentioned in an interview this week.
It’s not clear when Jabbar first grew to become drawn to ISIS. Abdur-Rahim Jabbar shared that their father was Muslim and Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s mom, who was Christian, transformed after they married. Jabbar was open about his Muslim religion however didn’t focus on it in a forceful approach.
The two not often talked about faith, he mentioned, although they did focus on the struggle in Gaza final 12 months. Jabbar expressed being upset concerning the scenario, calling it “genocide on each side.”
After his most up-to-date divorce, Jabbar appeared to turn into extra religious, although he by no means mentioned ISIS or any radical ideologies. His half brother described him as “looking for himself.”
In early 2024, Jabbar posted audio messages on SoundCloud, together with one titled “Satan’s Voice,” during which he condemned music as “the voice of Satan,” claiming it led folks into forbidden acts like drug use and violence.