 "A passport photo of deceased New Orleans terror attack suspect Shamsud-Din Jabbar. At least 15 people were killed and others injured Wednesday when a vehicle plowed overnight into a New year's crowd in the heart of the thriving New Orleans tourist district. AFP")
New Year celebrations turned into a tragedy in America’s New Orleans when a man drove a pick-up truck into a crowd of revellers, killing 15 people and injuring another 35 others.
The authorities described the attack as “very intentional”, adding that the attacker, now identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did”. As New Orleans Police chief Anne Kirkpatrick said, “This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could.”
US domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is now probing the attack as an act of terrorism and said it does not believe the driver acted alone.
But what do we know of the New Orleans attack — who, where, what why — and the alleged suspect behind it.
We get you everything we know so far about the tragedy.
What exactly happened?
As people were ringing in the new year in the French Quarter, Louisiana city’s most iconic tourist district, a man driving a white Ford pickup truck rammed into the people around 3:15 am local time. According to authorities, the driver swerved around bollards in order to carry out the attack.
In a press conference later, officials said security bollards were not in place as they were being replaced as part of the city’s preparations to host the Super Bowl next month. However, until they were replaced, parked police cars and other safeguards had been put in place.
“We did have a car there, we had barriers there, we had officers there, and they still got around,” said Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick of the New Orleans Police Department. She added, “We did indeed have a plan, but the terrorist defeated it.”
As the car rammed into people, it killed 15 people and injured another 35. Following this, the attacker even shot and wounded two police officers before he was killed in a firefight with the police. According to reports, a long gun was recovered from the scene.
Jay McGuffey, 28, who was inside a club at the scene when the attack unfolded told The Guardian, “We were just having fun, celebrating New Year’s, and then they told us to get out cause somebody had got shot. Then we heard that a truck had been through here, and 15 people had been shot.”
Following the attack, US President Joe Biden condemned it, extending condolences to the victims’ families, stating, “There is no justification for violence of any kind.” He pledged federal support for the investigation and recovery efforts.
Who is the suspect in the New Orleans attack?
In the hours after the New Orleans attack, authorities identified the man behind the “carnage” to be 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a US Army veteran.
Details of his background are now emerging, including his life as an estate agent, his divorce and his financial troubles. Educationally, he received a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems from Georgia State University, where he studied between 2015-2017.
His records, according to the Pentagon, reveal that Jabbar served in the US army as a human resource specialist and an IT specialist from 2007 to 2015, and then in the army reserve until 2020. He deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 until January 2010, an army spokesperson said, adding that he held the rank of Staff Sergeant at the end of his service. Earlier, the FBI had said it believed he was honourably discharged.
During his tenure, he received several distinguishments, including the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
It has also been revealed that Jabbar, a resident of Texas, had been married and divorced twice. Furthermore, he appeared to enter real estate following his stint in the military. However, records show that he was facing financial difficulties. During his 2022 divorce, he had written to his lawyer, “Time is of the essence. I cannot afford the house payment. It is past due in excess of $27,000 and in danger of foreclosure if we delay settling the divorce.”
According to a USA Today report, a detailed summary of Jabbar’s finances listed a paystub from Deloitte, the global accounting firm. He listed a gross salary of $120,000 per year. He listed credit card, student loan and other debts in excess of $41,000.
Jabbar also had a criminal record; he was charged with two minor crimes in 2002 and 2005. In 2002, he was charged with misdemeanour theft in Katy, Texas and in 2005 with driving with an invalid licence.
The New York Times further reports that a man identified as Abdur Jabbar said that he was the New Orleans’ suspect’s brother, describing him as a “a sweetheart really, a nice guy, a friend, really smart, caring.”
He said the suspect had converted to Islam at a young age, but that “what he did does not represent Islam. This is more some type of radicalisation, not religion.”
Videos uploaded on YouTube also reveal that Jabbar had made plans to kill his family; in one video, according to a CNN report, he had at first planned to gather his family for a “celebration” with the intention of killing them. However, he said in the videos that he changed his plans and joined Islamic State, and referenced several dreams that he had about why he should be joining the terrorist group.
In one of the videos, Jabbar said that serving in the military taught him the “ meaning of great service and what it means to be responsive and take everything seriously, dotting i’s and crossing t’s to make sure that things go off without a hitch”.
The car that Jabbar used in the New Orleans attack had a black flag on the vehicle’s trailer hitch, with some linking that to Islamic State.
While the motive behind plowing into crowds in New Orleans still remains unknown, US President Biden said that it seemed that Jabbar was “inspired by Islamic State”.
Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, said during a news conference that the agency does not believe Jabbar acted alone.
Meanwhile, authorities have sent a few personnel to the house of Jabbar’s second wife in north Houston. The New York Times quoting her new husband, Dwayne Marsh, said that the suspect had begun to convert to Islam within the last year and was “being all crazy”. He said that the suspect had two daughters, one a teenager and one a young adult, and that they were “a mess” after the attack.
Who were the victims of the New Orleans attack?
Jabbar’s attack claimed the lives of 15 people, including an 18-year-old aspiring nurse, a 37-year-old father of two and a 27-year-old former football player.
Local media identified the teen as Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux, who had travelled to New Orleans from nearby Gulfport, Mississippi, with a cousin and a friend. The New York Times said in a report that Dedeaux, known as Biscuit to her family and loved ones, was looking forward to starting school at Blue Cliff College later this month, where she planned to major in nursing. She was inspired by her mother and grandmother, who were both nurses, and by working in housekeeping at a hospital.
Meanwhile, the 37-year-old father of two was Reggie Hunter, who according to people who knew him had a great sense of humour.
Tiger Bech, a 27-year-old Lafayette, Louisiana, native and former football player was also one of the victims of the attack, said local media.
With inputs from agencies