Who is Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar? Suspect in deadly New Orleans truck attack
NEW ORLEANS - A driver rammed a pickup truck into a crowd of New Orleans revelers early on New Year’s Day, killing 14 people and injuring 35 in what the FBI now says was an act of terrorism.
The driver was killed in a firefight with police following the attack around 3:15 a.m. Wednesday along Bourbon Street in the city’s bustling French Quarter, the FBI said.
Who was the suspect?
Law enforcement has identified the driver as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar.
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A photo released by the FBI of Shamsud Din-Jabbar. (FBI via FOX)
A photo circulated among law enforcement officials showed a bearded Jabbar wearing camouflage next to the truck after he was killed by police.
The officials were not authorized to discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.
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The FBI said he was driving a Ford pickup truck that appeared to have been rented.
Jabbar had military experience
Jabbar joined the Army in 2007, serving on active duty in human resources and information technology and deploying to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010, the service said.
He transferred to the Army Reserve in 2015 and left in 2020 with the rank of staff sergeant.
Did Jabbar have any other weapons?
FBI officials said they also found weapons and a potential IED that were located in the truck. Other potential IEDs were also located in the French Quarter.
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What do we know about the truck?
The pickup truck used in the attack was rented via Turo, an app that connects drivers, known as "guests," with vehicle owners, known as "hosts," according to Steve Webb, the company’s vice president of communications.
"We are heartbroken to learn that one of our host’s vehicles was involved in this awful incident," Webb said in an email. "We are actively partnering with the FBI. We are not currently aware of anything in this guest’s background that would have identified him as a trust and safety threat to us at the time of the reservation."
Did Jabbar have a connection to ISIS?
The FBI said an Islamic State group flag was recovered in the vehicle used by the Jabbar in New Orleans.
New Orleans Update: 10 killed, 30 injured
At least 10 people were killed and more than 30 injured in New Orleans after a man driving a pickup truck plowed into a large crowd of people celebrating the new year in the famed Bourbon Street area, authorities said. New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick referred to the incident as "very intentional behavior" during a press conference early Wednesday, saying the suspect was "trying to run over as many people as he could."
"An ISIS flag was located in the vehicle, and the FBI is working to determine the subject's potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations," the FBI said in a news release.
President Joe Biden said Wednesday evening that the FBI found videos that the driver had posted to social media hours before the attack in which he said he was inspired by the Islamic State group and expressed a desire to kill.
Was anyone else involved?
The FBI says it does not believe that the suspect acted alone.
Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, said at a news conference that officials are actively seeking any possible associates of the Jabbar.
Investigators have reviewed video of three men and a woman placing explosives in the probe of the New Orleans attack, a document shows.
What was the motive?
The FBI is investigating the attack as an act of terrorism.
Police Commissioner Anne Kirkpatrick said the driver was "hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did" and he tried "to run over as many people as he could." Kirkpatrick said two police officers were shot after the driver emerged from the truck and are in stable condition.