New Orleans attack suspect made plans to join Islamic State

In a series of videos, the suspect in the deadly New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans spoke about planning to kill his family and having dreams that helped him join the Islamic State, according to multiple authorities briefed on the investigation.

Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the 42-year-old man who police suspect drove a pickup truck into a crowd of partygoers on Bourbon Street, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens, made the chilling recordings while driving from his home in Texas to Louisiana, authorities believe.

Jabbar, a Texas-born U.S. citizen and Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, referenced in the videos his divorce and how he had initially planned to gather his family for a “celebration” with the intention of killing them, two officials who said. were informed about the recordings.

Jabbar said in the videos that he changed his plans and joined the Islamic State and referenced several dreams he had about why he was joining the terrorist group, according to officials.

The videos, which CNN did not analyze, appear to have been recorded while he was driving at night, authorities said, although the exact timing is unclear.

Jabbar was killed while exchanging gunfire with police after crashing his truck into a crowd in the early hours of New Year’s Day. He had potential improvised explosive devices and an Islamic State flag in the truck he was driving, according to local and federal authorities.

Now, law enforcement authorities are reviewing videos taken by Jabbar as they rush to piece together details about how he went from military veteran to suspect in a deadly attack.

Jabbar served in the Army for more than a decade, an Army spokesperson told CNN on Wednesday (1st). He served as a human resources specialist and information technology specialist on active duty between March 2007 and January 2015, and was deployed to Afghanistan once from February 2009 to January 2010, the spokesperson said. After leaving active duty in January 2015, Jabbar served in the Army Reserve until July 2020, when he left the service as a sergeant.

Born in Beaumont, Texas, Jabbar said in a 2020 YouTube video titled “Personal Introduction,” in which he introduced himself as a professional real estate agent based in Houston.

Serving in the military, Jabbar said in a YouTube video, taught him “the meaning of great service and what it means to be responsive and take everything seriously, dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s to make sure things run smoothly.” ”. The video has since been taken down. In the recording, he sat next to a framed poster with the word “Discipline” in bold letters and next to a book titled “Leadership.”

Jabbar received an associate’s degree from Central Texas College in 2010 and a bachelor’s degree from Georgia State University in 2017, according to an online resume. Both degrees were related to computer science and information technology. He later worked in business development and data engineering at consulting firms Deloitte and Accenture, according to his resume.

Georgia State University confirmed to CNN which Jabbar attended from 2015 to 2017 and graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Computer Information Systems. Central Texas College and Accenture did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

In a statement, Deloitte said: “We are shocked to learn of today’s reports that the individual identified as a suspect had any association with our company. The named individual has served in a staff-level role since being hired in 2021. Like everyone, we are outraged by this shameful and senseless act of violence and are doing everything we can to assist authorities in their investigation.”

Jabbar in 2019 obtained a real estate license that expired in 2023, according to Texas Real Estate Commission records. Records show he took a series of real estate classes on topics including contract law and finance between 2018 and 2021. He is also listed in public records as having previously registered with or been associated with several companies in Texas and Georgia.

Jabbar has been divorced twice, court documents show. His first wife sued him in 2012 for alimony shortly after he filed for divorce, and the court ordered him to pay amounts that increased over the years as his income grew. The case was dismissed in 2022.

In 2020, a Texas judge granted Jabbar’s second wife a restraining order against him during their divorce proceedings. The order ordered Jabbar to refrain from threats, physical harm or other stipulated behavior against his ex-wife and any of their children.

It demanded that she avoid the same behavior. In a court filing, Jabbar’s ex-wife stated that the marriage had become “unbearable because of discord or conflict of personalities.”

Harris County court records also show that Jabbar pleaded guilty to theft of $50 to $500 in December 2002 and served nine months of “community supervision.”

Accused of drunk driving

Court documents from a U.S. District Court in North Carolina obtained by CNN show that in 2015, Jabbar pleaded guilty to charges related to driving under the influence at Fort Bragg, a North Carolina military base now known as Fort Liberty.

The documents revealed that Jabbar was under the influence of a harmful substance in November 2014 and registered a blood alcohol level above the legal limit. They also showed that he was driving with “an open container of alcohol after consuming alcohol.”

Jabbar was charged with DUI Level 5 – the least serious level of the offense in North Carolina.

According to the documents, he had his driver’s license suspended, was placed on probation for 12 months, fined $200 and served 24 hours of community service.

Jabbar was also ordered to undergo and pay for a substance abuse evaluation and treatment, in addition to participating in any other alcohol/drug rehabilitation program directed by the U.S. Probation Office.

Financial problems

In recent years, the 42-year-old appears to have struggled with his finances. In a January 2022 email filed as part of his divorce proceedings, he wrote that he was unable to pay the mortgage on his home, which he said was more than $27,000 in arrears and “in danger of foreclosure mortgage” if your divorce settlement was delayed further.

Jabbar also stated in the email that a business he had formed, Blue Meadow Properties, had lost about $28,000 the previous year, and that other businesses he had formed were not worth any money. He added that he had incurred about $16,000 in credit card debt.

Jabbar rented the truck he used in the New Year’s Eve attack, a Ford F-150 Lightning electric truck, from car rental website Turo, which allows owners to rent out their vehicles to others. The truck owner confirmed to CNN in a text message that it was rented from Turo.

Explosion in Las Vegas

The rental site was also linked to a case in Las Vegas involving a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside a Trump Hotel on Wednesday. The driver of the Cybertruck died in the explosion, police said. Authorities have not confirmed the name of the dead driver and are investigating whether the incident was a terrorist attack.

“We are actively partnering with law enforcement as they investigate both cases,” a Turo spokesperson told CNN . “We do not believe that any of the tenants involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had criminal records that would identify them as a security threat.”

The company remains “committed to maintaining the highest standards in risk management, thanks to our world-class trust and security technologies and teams that include experienced former law enforcement professionals,” the statement continued.

“We are heartbroken by the violence perpetrated in New Orleans and Las Vegas, and our prayers are with the victims and their families,” the statement said.

Turo disabled the truck linked to the New Orleans attack on its platform for rent on Wednesday (1st) morning. Before it was disabled, the vehicle was listed as costing $105 per day, excluding taxes and fees, and was not available for rent until 12:30 p.m. Central Time on Wednesday.

This content was originally published in New Orleans attack suspect made plans to join the Islamic State on the CNN Brasil website.

Source: CNN Brasil