What we know about the New Orleans terror suspect: Why did he target a New Year's Eve crowd?
WASHINGTON - The man the FBI says rammed his truck into a crowd of New Year's revelers in New Orleans, killing 15 of them, had been having severe financial difficulties despite holding a $120,000-a-year job, according to court records obtained by USA TODAY.
The FBI identified the driver of in the Bourbon Street rampage on New Year's Day in New Orleans as 42-year-old Shamsud Din Jabbar. Federal agents say the deadly assault is being investigated as "an act of terrorism." Jabbar was fatally shot by police after he opened fire on officers.
Court records in Texas show Jabbar, who has been married and divorced twice, had written of financial troubles during his legal ups and downs with wives. As he negotiated his second divorce two years ago, his attorney attached records to court files indicating Jabbar’s finances were limited.
“Time is of the essence. I cannot afford the house payment. It is past due in excess of $27,000 and in danger of foreclosure if we delay settling the divorce,” Jabbar wrote to his attorney in January 2022.
Jabbar proposed selling the couple's home in Fresno, Texas and divide the equity. He also mentioned two real estate holding companies he formed that were worth $0, he wrote. He proposed $1100 child support and mentioned his two children.
Later, a detailed summary of Jabbar’s finances listed a paystub from Deloitte, the global accounting firm. He listed a gross salary of $120,000 per year. He listed credit card, student loan and other debts in excess of $41,000.
Jabbar, a U.S. citizen and an Army veteran, carried an ISIS flag on the trailer hitch of the truck used in Wednesday's deadly assault. The truck appeared to be rented, the FBI said.
"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 statement said.
Jabbar enlisted in the Army in 2007, at the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan when more than 100,000 U.S. troops had deployed to war zones, according to the Army and a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
His initial specialty was a human resource specialist, a job whose duties included payroll, mail delivery and processing medals. He became an information technology specialist, a common transition in the Army. As an IT solider, he would have been a trained as a computer-system troubleshooter.
Jabbar deployed to Afghanistan from Feb. 2009 until Jan. 2015. He was posted at bases including Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, and what was then Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
After his deployment, Jabbar joined the Army Reserve and continued serving as an IT specialist until July 2020. He left the Army as a staff sergeant, and received an honorable discharge, according to the official.
Jabbar's motive for the assault is unknown. After driving his pickup truck at high speed around barricades set up on New Year's Eve on Bourbon Street, he got out of the truck and shot at local police, the FBI said. Three police officers returned fire and killed the suspect, New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said. Two officers wounded in the gunfire were reported in stable condition.
The FBI's bomb technicians are working to determine whether explosive devices found in the truck and elsewhere in the city's French Quarter were viable, the agency said.
"Weapons and a potential IED were located in the subject’s vehicle," the FBI said. "Other potential IEDs were also located in the French Quarter."
An initial review of his record showed his time in the Army to be unremarkable, the official said. Jabbar mostly served back-office functions as a soldier.
The attack on Bourbon Street came about 3:15 a.m. CST as throngs were celebrating the New Year. The attack also came hours before the city would host the Sugar Bowl college football game between Notre Dame and the University of Georgia; as a result of the heightened concern over the attack, the game was postponed.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What we know about the New Orleans terror suspect