Authorities believe the Texas man implicated in the New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans acted alone, the FBI said at a Thursday press conference.
Though officials previously said they were investigating the possibility that Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, may have acted with others in the attack that killed 14 people, evidence found in a raid of Jabbar’s Houston home and vehicle appeared to contradict that theory, The New York Times reported.
Jabbar, who drove into crowds of New Year’s revelers along Bourbon Street around 2 a.m., was killed in a shootout with law enforcement. He was an Army veteran from Houston.
In Thursday’s press conference, Christopher Raia of the FBI’s counterterrorism division said that Jabbar rented the truck in Houston on Dec. 30 and drove to New Orleans on New Year’s Eve, posting Facebook videos during the trip expressing support for the so-called Islamic State, or ISIS. Authorities found an Islamic State flag in the truck used in the attack.
In one video, Jabbar stated that he initially planned to harm his relatives and friends but feared the media would not highlight the “war between the believers and disbelievers.” Raia added that Jabbar claimed to have joined ISIS earlier this summer.
Investigators discovered two explosive devices in coolers in the French Quarter; surveillance footage apparently showed Jabbar placing them. One was found at Bourbon and Orleans Street, and the other about two blocks away. Both devices were safely neutralized after residents and shops nearby were evacuated.
Jabbar was born and raised in Beaumont, according to a 2020 YouTube video where he introduced himself. A former classmate described Jabbar as “a regular dude” in an interview with The Washington Post.
He held a Texas real estate license from 2019 to 2023, the newspaper reported. In another 2020 video, he identified himself as a property manager and “fierce negotiator.” Since 2021, he worked for Deloitte in a staff-level role, according to a statement from the consulting firm cited by the Post.
Jabbar served in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010 as a human resources specialist, according to multiple reports. After leaving active duty in 2015, he joined the Army Reserve and pursued a career in IT. Jabbar left the military in July 2020 after 13 years of service. He was honorably discharged but pleaded guilty in 2015 to a drunken driving charge at Fort Bragg, now known as Fort Liberty, reported the Post.
Texas court records show Jabbar had three children, including two daughters with one ex-wife and a son with another, whom he divorced in 2022. Public records list his most recent address in north Harris County, KHOU reported.
Local and federal law enforcement converged on that home after the attack, which FBI agents searched on Wednesday night after obtaining a federal warrant.
The FBI deployed bomb technicians, crisis negotiators, and tactical teams to Jabbar’s home. On Wednesday afternoon, chickens, goats, and ducks wandered the fenced property as news reporters and law enforcement filled the surrounding streets, Houston Public Media reported.
Law enforcement agencies have urged the public to avoid the area, according to multiple reports.