Suspect in deadly New Orleans truck attack served in US Army, ‘born and raised’ in Texas

Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the 42-year-old Texas man accused of crashing a truck into New Year’s Day revellers in New Orleans, killing 15 and injuring dozens of people, served in the US Army for 13 years including a deployment to Afghanistan, the US Army said.

Federal officials and local law enforcement in New Orleans said that Jabbar did not act alone and that they are looking for accomplices. The FBI said Jabbar had an Islamic State flag on his truck and view the attack as a potential act of terrorism. The Islamic State, or Isis, is a Sunni Muslim militant group which has carried out attacks throughout the world.

While the investigation is ongoing, so far no information has surfaced to explain why Jabbar, a US citizen raised in Texas, would carry out the New Orleans attack. Jabbar died at the scene in a shoot-out with police, officials said.

Jabbar served in the US Army as a human resource specialist and information technology specialist from 2007 until 2015. He then joined the Army Reserve as an IT specialist until 2020, holding the rank of staff sergeant at the end of service, according to an Army official.

Jabbar deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010, the official said.