New Orleans attack suspect planned to kill his own family

New Orleans attack suspect plotted to kill family, join ISIS and recorded shocking videos explaining his motivations

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 about dreams that inspired him to join ISIS, according to multiple authorities briefed on the investigation.

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

Jabbar, a Texas-born U.S. citizen and Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, mentioned in the videos his divorce and how he initially planned to gather his family for a “celebration” with the intention of killing them, according to two officials who had access to the footage. recordings. However, Jabbar stated in the videos that he changed his plans and decided to join ISIS, citing several dreams he had about his reasons for joining the terrorist group, according to officials.

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

Jabbar was killed in an exchange of fire with police after running into a crowd in the early hours of New Year’s Day. He had possible improvised explosive devices and an ISIS flag in the pickup truck he was driving, according to local and federal authorities.

Now, authorities are analyzing videos taken by Jabbar as they try to understand how he went from military veteran to suspect in a deadly attack.

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

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

While serving in the military, Jabbar said in a YouTube video that he learned “the meaning of great service and what it means to be responsible and take everything seriously, paying attention to details to make sure nothing goes wrong.” The video was taken down. In it, Jabbar appeared next to a framed poster with the word “Discipline” highlighted and next to a book titled “Leadership.”

According to an online resume, Jabbar earned a technical degree from Central Texas College in 2010 and a bachelor’s degree from Georgia State University in 2017, both related to computer science and information technology. He worked in business development and data engineering at consultancies Deloitte and Accenture, according to his resume.

Georgia State University confirmed to CNN that Jabbar attended the university from 2015 to 2017, graduating with a degree in Business Administration with a minor in Computer Information Systems. Central Texas College and Accenture did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In a statement, Deloitte said: “We are shocked to learn of today’s news that the individual identified as a suspect had any association with our company. He has held an entry-level position 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 obtained a real estate license in 2019, which expired in 2023, according to Texas Real Estate Commission records. Records show he took a variety of courses on topics such as contract law and finance between 2018 and 2021. He also appears in public records as having registered or being associated with several companies in Texas and Georgia.

Court records show Jabbar has been divorced twice. His first wife sued him in 2012 for alimony shortly after he filed for divorce, and the court ordered increasing payments as his income increased. The case was closed in 2022.

In 2020, a Texas judge granted Jabbar’s second wife a restraining order against him during their divorce proceedings. The order prohibited Jabbar from threatening or physically harming his ex-wife and children, and stipulated that she must also avoid such behavior. In the documents, Jabbar’s ex-wife stated that the marriage had become “unsustainable due to discord or conflicting personalities.”

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

In 2015, documents from a U.S. District Court in North Carolina showed that Jabbar pleaded guilty to charges related to driving under the influence at Fort Bragg (now Fort Liberty), a military base in North Carolina. He had his driver’s license suspended, was placed on probation for 12 months, fined $200 and ordered to perform 24 hours of community service in addition to undergoing substance abuse evaluation and treatment.

In recent years, Jabbar has faced financial difficulties. In a January 2022 email as part of his divorce proceedings, he wrote that he could not pay the mortgage on his home, which was more than $27,000 in arrears and was at risk of foreclosure. He also claimed that his company, Blue Meadow Properties, had a loss of about $28,000 the previous year and that other companies he founded were worthless. He accumulated about $16,000 in credit card debt.

Jabbar rented the truck used in the New Year’s Eve attack, an electric Ford F-150 Lightning, from the rental website Turo. The owner of the vehicle confirmed to CNN that it was rented through the platform.

Rental website Turo has also been linked to an incident in Las Vegas involving a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside a Trump hotel. Police said the driver of the Cybertruck died in the explosion. Authorities are investigating whether the incident was a terrorist attack.

“We are actively collaborating with authorities as they investigate both incidents,” a Turo spokesperson said. “We do not believe that any of the renters involved in the attacks in Las Vegas and New Orleans had criminal records that would identify them as a security threat.”

Turo on Wednesday disabled the vehicle linked to the New Orleans incident. Prior to that, the truck was listed for $105 per day, excluding fees, and was unavailable for rent until 12:30 p.m. Central Time.

With information from CNN*