A Texas AU.S. Army veteran who drove to Louisiana and intentionally crashed into New Orleans New Year’s celebrations made films of the drive and sent them to his family, telling them he had joined ISIS and discussing plans to kill them.
In the recordings, Shamsud-Din Jabbar stated, “I wanted to record this message for my family.” I wanted to let you know that earlier this year, I joined ISIS.
I don’t want you to believe that I spared you voluntarily, he continued.
In an apparent reference to killing the apostates, he told his family that his first goal had been to plan a feast for them and have everyone watch the apostates being killed.
First reported by The New York Times, the videos’ contents were confirmed to NBC News by a senior law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information. The videos have not been independently vetted by NBC News.
According to officials, Jabbar, 42, posted recordings online while driving a rental truck from Houston to New Orleans on New Year’s Eve. At approximately 3:15 a.m., he returned to his truck and crashed into revelers on New Orleans’ renowned Bourbon Street, where he set two homemade explosive devices. He killed 14 people before being shot and killed by police.
According to experts, the information that has surfaced about Jabbar fits the usual pattern of how veterans can become violently radicalized.
Jabbar lost his corporate position, went through his third divorce, and accrued a substantial amount of debt in the years preceding Wednesday’s attack. According to January 2022 divorce court documents, he was dealing with almost $27,000 in past-due home payments, tens of thousands of dollars in credit card debt, and company losses. According to prosecution records, he had only $2,012 in his bank accounts by August of that year.
Experts may not have been shocked by Jabbar’s outburst, but his family, friends, and coworkers, who characterized him as gentle and modest, have been perplexed.
In an interview this week, Jabbar’s 24-year-old half-brother, Abdur-Rahim Jabbar IV, stated, “It’s a complete surprise, a shock to everyone.”
When Jabbar originally developed an interest in ISIS is unclear. According to Abdur-Rahim Jabbar, Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s mother was a Christian before she converted after they were married, and their father was a Muslim. Jabbar did not speak forcefully about his Muslim beliefs, but he was forthright about it.
He claimed that although they did converse about the war in Gaza last year, the two hardly ever discussed religion. Calling it genocide on all sides, Jabbar expressed his displeasure with the state of affairs.
Jabbar never mentioned ISIS or other radical ideas, but he appeared to grow more pious after his most recent divorce. According to his half-brother, he was searching for himself.
Jabbar shared audio messages on SoundCloud in early 2024, one of which was dubbed Satan’s Voice. In it, he denounced music as the voice of Satan and said it encouraged people to engage in illegal behaviors including drug usage and violence.
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