New details are beginning to emerge about Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the 42-year-old Texan who on New Year’s Eve drove his Ford pickup truck into the crowd on Bourbon Street, killing 15 bystanders and injuring more than 30.
Jabbar, born and raised in the United States, was an Army veteran, where he had served in human resources and information technology, being deployed to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010. He had become a reservist in 2015 before taking an honorable discharge in 2020, with the rank of staff sergeant. Once he left the military, he had started working for companies specializing in consulting services, such as the giant Deloitte.
According to investigators, however, it was during his return to civilian life that the 42-year-old allegedly began to grow closer to the ideals of the Islamic State. After the massacre last New Year’s Eve, at the end of which Jabbar himself lost his life following a firefight with police, officers searched his pickup truck and found an Isis flag and several weapons, including an explosive device.
Investigators also discovered that, in 2023, the 42-year-old Texan took a trip to Egypt, where he stayed for about a month. He told his family members that he chose that destination as it was “beautiful and cheap.” Now, investigators are looking into Jabbar’s stay in North Africa.
According to some sources, law enforcement officials believe that the former U.S. soldier’s complete radicalization to the Islamic State took place here. Therefore, as stated by New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams, investigators are trying to determine what Jabbar did during his Egyptian sojourn, why he chose that particular destination, and whether he met other ISIS followers.
According to the FBI, in addition, hours before the New Year’s Eve attack, the 42-year-old had posted several videos online in which he “proclaimed his support for ISIS” which he stated he had joined over the summer. From initial investigations, it would appear that the man was in contact with at least one Islamic State representative: however, the latter never claimed last night’s attack.
In another update on Friday, authorities revealed that Jabbar had started a small fire in the hallway of the property he rented on Mandeville Street in New Orleans before the attack in an attempt to dispose of some evidence. Investigators, however, arrived on the scene before the flames spread dangerously, finding bomb-making materials and a silencer.
The investigation had initially assumed the presence of possible accomplices. However, the FBI maintains that the man acted alone. Some had also linked the New Orleans bombing to the Las Vegas incident, where, also on New Year’s Day, a Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside the Trump hotel.
Like Jabbar, the 37-year-old man driving the powerful vehicle, Matthew Alan Livelsberger, was also a former U.S. Army soldier: he had served in the special forces for 19 years, and also like the Texan, had rented his vehicle on the “Turo” platform. However, despite these sinister coincidences, authorities say there appears to be no connection between the two incidents.
While the two cases continue to remain under the FBI’s magnifying glass, the approval to reopen Bourbon Street came this week. Finally, next Monday, President Joe Biden, in the company of first lady Jill, will arrive in New Orleans, where he will meet with the families of the victims and members of the local community who are still in shock over what happened.
