It was a horrible experience for citizens of New Orleans on New Years Day when a man intentionally drove a pickup truck into a crowd of revelers on Bourbon Street, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens of others.
A black ISIS flag was flying from the truck’s rear bumper, and the attack is being investigated as an act of terrorism according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation said.
The man driving the vehicle has been identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a U.S. citizen from Texas, the FBI said.
Who is Shamsud-Din Jabbar?
Shamsud-Din Jabbar is a 42-year-old man from Texas.
He served in the U.S. Army for 13 years, including a deployment to Afghanistan, according to Army officials.
Jabbar served as a human resource specialist and information technology specialist in the Army from 2007 to 2015, later joining the Army Reserve as an IT specialist until 2020, ending his service with the rank of staff sergeant.
He was deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010. Prior to his Army service, Jabbar briefly enlisted in the Navy in August 2004 but was discharged a month later.
Jabbar had an Islamic State flag on his truck, the Islamic State, or ISIS, is a Sunni Muslim militant organization known for carrying out attacks worldwide.
As the investigation continues, no clear motive has emerged for why Jabbar, a U.S. citizen raised in Texas, would commit the attack.
The FBI suspects that Jabbar rented the Ford pickup truck used to crash into the crowd in New Orleans’ French Quarter early Wednesday.
Following the collision, he opened fire on police, resulting in injuries to 35 individuals, in addition to at least 10 fatalities.
However, Jabbar died at the scene during a shootout with police.
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