Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the 42-year-old Texas man accused of crashing a truck into a group of people celebrating the New Year in New Orleans, served in the U.S. military for 13 years, including a deployment to Afghanistan.
New information about Jabbar’s background provided by the military Wednesday night helps paint a portrait of the man who authorities say killed at least 15 people.
Federal authorities and local law enforcement in New Orleans have said Jabbar did not act alone and are looking for accomplices. The FBI has said Jabbar was carrying an Islamic State flag on his truck and that the agency is treating the attack as a possible act of terrorism. The Islamic State, or IS, is a Sunni Muslim militant group that has carried out attacks around the world.
Jabbar served in the Army as a human resources and information technology specialist from 2007 to 2015. He then joined the Army Reserves as an information technology specialist until 2020, holding the rank of first sergeant upon completion of service. according to an army officer.
Jabbar was deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010, according to the official.
In addition to serving in the military, Jabbar had previously enlisted in the Navy in August 2004 under a deferred entry program, but was discharged a month later, a Navy official told Reuters.
Jabbar graduated with a degree in computer information systems from Georgia State University after studying there from 2015 to 2017, school officials told Atlanta News First. Corporate records show that Jabbar had been involved in a number of real estate deals in recent years.
Consulting firm Deloitte issued a statement stating that Jabbar had worked at the company since he was hired in 2021.
“We are shocked to learn of today’s reports that the individual identified as a suspect had some association with our firm,” the Deloitte statement stated. “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.”
In a promotional video for a real estate deal posted to YouTube in 2020, a man with the same name as the suspect said his time in the military had taught him the importance of great service and taking everything seriously.
“I’ve taken those skills and applied them to my career as a real estate agent, where I feel like what really sets me apart from other agents is my ability to be a fierce negotiator,” he said, encouraging clients to call him.
In the video, the man presented himself as a manager for Blue Meadow Properties LLC, a Texas-based company whose license expired in 2022. He was registered as a real estate sales agent for four years until February 2023, records show.
He said he was born and raised in Beaumont, Texas.
Online records from Texas criminal courts show Jabbar had relatively minor crimes in his past, including misdemeanor theft and driving with an invalid license prior to his military service.
The New York Times reported that he had been divorced twice. In 2022, during the second divorce, he allegedly wrote an email complaining that he needed to resolve the divorce because otherwise he would not be able to afford his house payment.
Dwayne Marsh, the new husband of Jabbar’s second ex-wife, Nakedra Charrlle, said Jabbar had converted to Islam at some point, the New York Times reported. More recently, Jabbar’s behavior had become erratic, she said, leading the couple to stop allowing Jabbar to spend time with the daughters he shared with Charrle.
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