Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, the deceased suspect in the ram-vehicle attack in New Orleans that killed at least 15 people on Wednesday, was ‘inspired’ by the Islamic State group and had reportedly become radicalised in recent years.
An estate agent and former soldier, the man was a 42-year-old American citizen born in Texas.
US President Joe Biden explained that ‘just hours before the attack’, the suspect had ‘posted videos on social networks indicating that he was inspired by the Islamic State’ and showing a ‘desire to kill’.
His brother, Abdur Jabbar, who spoke to the New York Times, describes him as ‘a sweetheart, a nice guy, a friend, very intelligent, caring’.
He indicated that the suspect had converted to Islam at a young age, stressing that ‘what he did does not represent Islam. It's more a form of radicalisation’.
A friend from his youth, Chris Pousson, who was also contacted by the New York daily, remembers a person who ‘didn't cause problems, got good grades’.
Recounting how he got back in touch with him in 2017 via social networks, this retired soldier said that he ‘was never threatening, but you could see that he had become really intense about his faith’.
In a video from 2020, which has since been removed from social networks, the suspect boasts in a southern US accent about his services as an estate agent and extols his virtues.
‘Good evening. I'm Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a property manager (...). I was born and raised in Beaumont, Texas, and now live in Houston. I've been here all my life, except for my Army trips,’ he says proudly of his military background.
He says he worked for the army in ‘human resources’ and ‘IT’ (information technology).
In this video, he poses in front of a screen with ‘Discipline’ written in large letters.
The FBI stated that he had left the army in an ‘honourable’ manner.
The Ministry of Defence pointed out that he had been in the army from 2007 to 2015, including a deployment to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010, finishing as a staff sergeant. He was also a reservist from 2015 to 2020.
In his video, Shamsud-Din Jabbar says he ‘learned’ in the army ‘what it means to be responsive and take everything seriously (...) to make sure things go smoothly’.
‘What really sets me apart from other (estate) agents is my ability to be a tough negotiator,’ he says.
His criminal record includes two indictments for minor offences: theft in 2002 and driving with an invalid licence in 2005, according to the New York Times.
The newspaper also reported that Mr Jabbar had been married twice and was divorcing in 2022, citing financial difficulties in a letter to his wife's lawyer. According to the newspaper, he said he had lost 28,000 dollars in his agency and proposed selling their house and sharing the proceeds.
Jabbar had graduated from Georgia State University with a degree in computer science after spending two years studying between 2015 and 2017, a university spokesperson told AFP.
With AFP.
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