In the center of the French Quarter of New Orleans, during New Years celebrations, Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove a Ford pick-up truck through a crowd-filled Bourbon Street on Jan. 1, 2025 at 3:15 a.m. According to an official Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) statement, they have identified around 14 casualties, 57 injured, two businesses damaged and a total of 136 victims involved in the attack. A majority of the victims were transported to the New Orleans University Medical Center (UMC). 

Based on the Chief Medical Officer of the University Medical Center (UMC), Dr. Jeffery Elder to WDSU6 News, it was the highest number of critical care patients the hospital has ever seen. Many of the patients arrived all at the same time during the New Year’s attack. The injuries that many of the victims suffered included gunshot wounds, blunt-force injuries, various broken limbs and head trauma. Louisiana State University and Tulane University provided trauma surgeons from their respective medical schools to help the UMC staff. In light of the events, UMC and Spirit of Charity Foundation established the New Orleans, Louisiana (NOLA) Strong Fund to help victims of the attack and their families ensure access to resources for rehabilitation and recovery. 

Courtesy of Washington State

 The attacker, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was identified by the FBI as a 42-year-old Texan. Officials later stated that Jabbar died in a shootout with police after opening fire. The FBI is investigating this as an “attack of terrorism.” They found an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) flag in the vehicle with other firearms and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The FBI states that Jabbar has been Muslim since 2022 which was when he started to isolate himself from society. They also reference that he began to have extremist views in the spring of 2024. 

The New York Times (NYT) also reported that officials said there were various videos on Jabbar’s Facebook account leading up to the incident, including one where he “pledged allegiance to ISIS.” The NYT also comments on behalf of FBI officials, stating that Jabbar may not be entirely responsible; others may be connected to the attack. The FBI is actively trying to decide a motive. However, in a speech update by FBI New Orleans Field Officer, Special Agent in Charge Lyonel Myrthil states that Jabbar traveled to Cairo, Egypt on June 22 and arrived on July 3, 2023. 

Shortly after he arrived in America, he flew to Canada from July 10 to July 13. He also made two trips to New Orleans before the attack in Oct. and Nov. 

The FBI reports that Jabbar was caught on video footage using Meta glasses on his October trip as he biked around the French Quarter. The FBI said that he used the Meta glasses to record the area during his trip. Jabbar was wearing the glasses during the attack. The report suggests that the glasses could have been used to livestream the event. However, Jabbar did not activate the livestream function. 

As the FBI continued its investigation on Jabbar, the NYT went into great detail about his upbringing, family and personal and professional life to explore any warning signs of the devastating event. 

According to past classmates of Jabbar, he was always reserved but exceptionally smart. Numerous neighbors also confirmed his quiet nature but also considered him a helpful neighbor. Although the FBI stated that Jabbar was only recently a Muslim, Jabbar’s brother, Abdur Jabbar, reported that he converted to Islam a long time ago and was Muslim for most of his life despite being raised Christian.

Courtesy of The New York Times

In recent months, Jabbar’s first ex-wife’s family stated that he was acting erratically in the months which led to the family denying him to see their children. In total, he had three marriages and each ended in divorce. In which his third divorce caused him severe financial problems. Jabbar did have other incidents with the law such as misdemeanor theft, driving under the influence, and a restraining order from his second wife, all reported in a CNN article

Jabbar was a U.S. Army Veteran who was deployed to Afghanistan during his service. He served as an information technology specialist and he was discharged in 2020 with the rank of Staff Sergeant. In the opinion of his brother, Jabbar joined the military without any goals but to become more disciplined. Not many of his former friends or family thought that he may be capable of the attack. 

The identification of Shamsud-Din Jabbar as the attacker raised crucial questions about the factors that led to such a catastrophic incident, from his recent “radicalization” to his troubled personal history. 

Author