The alleged perpetrator of the vehicle-ramming attack which left at least ten dead this Wednesday, January 1 in New Orleans had a Daesh flag in his pickup, the FBI announced.
The alleged perpetrator of the vehicle-ramming attack which left at least fifteen dead this Wednesday, January 1 in New Orleans was identified by the FBI as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old American citizen, announced the federal police in a press release.
“He was driving a Ford pickup, which had apparently been rented,” the statement continued. The man was shot after an exchange of gunfire with police, the FBI said. An ISIS flag was found in the vehicle.
“The FBI is working to determine the individual's potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations,” the statement said.
A criminal record
At a news conference, FBI agent Alethea Duncan said the suspect had a criminal record. These are two charges for minor offenses: theft in 2002 and driving with an invalid license in 2005, according to the New York Times.
“We can't give you details. He's a veteran, we think he was discharged with honor,” she added. The latter also stressed that the agency did not think “that he is the only one responsible.”
“We are asking those who knew this gentleman in the last hours to contact us,” she said.
The FBI is investigating the attack and said it was “a terrorist attack.”
A real estate agent
The suspect presented himself as a Texan, ex-military and real estate agent, in a 2020 self-introduction video posted on YouTube and viewed by Agence France-Presse (AFP) and the New York Times.
-“Good evening. I am Shamsud-Din Jabbar, property manager (…). I would like to greet you and tell you a little about myself”, he says at the start of the video where he sells his services and praises his merits .
“I was born and raised in Beaumont, Texas, and now live in Houston. I've been here my whole life, except for traveling for the military,” he proudly says on his military past. He says he worked for the army in the “human resources” and “IT” sector.
In this video, he poses in front of a screen on which “discipline” is written in large letters. The FBI said he left the military “honorably.”
He says he “learned” in the army “what it means to be responsive and take everything seriously (…) to make sure things go smoothly. So I applied those skills to my career as a real estate agent”.
“What really sets me apart from other agents is my ability to be a tough negotiator,” he emphasizes with a southern accent.
Married twice
The daily also reports that Shamsud-Din Jabbar was married twice and was divorcing in 2022, expressing financial difficulties in a letter to his wife's lawyer.
According to the newspaper, he said he lost $28,000 in his agency and offered to sell their house and split the proceeds from the sale.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper reported that Shamsud-Din Jabbar graduated from Georgia State University.
