Attack in New Orleans, who is Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar who drove a pick-up truck into the crowd on New Year’s Eve and what are the links to the car explosion in Las Vegas

The man who, on New Year’s Eve, drove a pick-up truck into a crowd in New Orleans, killing 15 people and injuring at least 30, is an American citizen born and raised in Texas and an army veteran. . Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, 42 years oldlives in Fresno. According to the FBI, he was linked to ISIS. On the white pick-up he used for the massacre there would have been a gray and black flag with a reference to the Islamic terrorist organization.

There would therefore be radicalization at a certain point in the life of this man who served in the American army and who in 2020 described himself online as a real estate agent, born and raised in Beaumont, Texas. Two divorces behind him, he also described himself as a human resources specialist and technology expert in the army where he had served for about ten years. However, he would also have had financial problems related to the second divorce.

For the massacre he rented a Ford-150 pick up using the Turo app, which allows rental between private individuals. He got it in Texason July 30, for 150 dollars a day (so not a little considering the months that have passed). The contract would have expired on June 30, 2026.

Jabbar had been in the city for a couple of days and, at the time of the massacre, he was wearing camouflage and black sneakers. He was armed with a pistol and an Ar-15 model rifle and in the vehicle he had a rudimentary explosive device or perhaps two. The police killed him as soon as he got out of the car: he was holding a gun and had started shooting. In a video posted online before the attack, he said he was inspired by the Islamic State. He converted after his discharge. According to Dwayne Marsh, married to the man’s ex-wife, “in recent months he had been acting like a madman.”

A lone wolf? The FBI thinks not: “We don’t believe he’s the only one responsible”. According to New Orleans police, Jabbar had a criminal record, including theft and driving with a suspended license, nothing related to the terrorism he is now investigating. The controversy is open over the lack of barriers and deterrents in a city that is due to host the Super Bowl in just over a month: the previous ones have been moved to put in new, more efficient ones. As in Germany a few weeks ago, dangerous gaps remained that led to the massacre.

The FBI is also investigating a possible legal connection between the New Orleans massacre and the explosion of a Tesla in front of the Trump Tower in Las Vegas. Matthew Livelsberger, who died in the Tesla fire in Nevada, was also a former military man. Like Jabbar he did missions abroad and they may have shared a stint on the same base. They rented the cars with the same app.