 "Investigators work the scene after a person drove a vehicle into a crowd earlier on Canal and Bourbon Street in New Orleans, on Wednesday. AP")
Friends and family members of Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the man who is believed to have killed 15 and injured around three dozen in New Orleans on the New Year’s Day, appear to be struggling to make sense of the news.
The brother of Jabbar blamed radicalisation for the mass-murder. A former classmate who reconnected many years later found Jabbar a changed person — the quiet and reserved Christian boy he knew had turned into a “passionate” Muslim man. A sister-in-law described him as the “nicest” person she knew. Meanwhile, the husband of his first wife described him as “all crazy” and the second wife —also divorced— secured a restraining order against him.
In sharp contrast to the recollection of friends and family are the recordings with the investigators in which they say Jabbar talks about wanting to kill his family and having dreams telling him to join the Islamic State.
Just hours into the New Year when celebrations were still ongoing, Jabbar drove a rented pick-up truck into reveller in New Orleans . Shortly after he began his murderous rampage, the police confronted him. He was shot dead in the confrontation that also injured two police personnel. A flag of the Islamic State and an improvised explosive device (IED) were recovered from his vehicle.
Jabbar has been identified as a US citizen who had served in the US Army for eight years as a computer and human resource specialist during 2007-15. After his active service, he dabbled into real estate and consulting. At the time of the attack, he was employed with Deloitte and had previously worked at Accenture.
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View AllThe Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has said the incident is being treated as an act of terror and the understanding at the moment is that Jabbar did not act alone. The agency said the search to find any accomplices is ongoing.
‘This is radicalisation, not religion’
Abdur Jabbar, the younger brother of the older Jabbar, said that he was brought up Christian but had “long ago” converted to Islam.
In an interview with The New York Times, Abdur blamed “radicalisation” for his brother’s act.
Abdur said, “As far as I know he was a Muslim for most of his life. What he did does not represent Islam. This is more some type of radicalization, not religion.”
Abdur further said that joining the military was his brother’s way of trying to find “a new outlet to get some sort of discipline”.
From reserved & smart boy to passionate Muslim, ‘crazy’ husband
Jabbar went through a major transformation in his life.
Born and brought up as a Christian, his classmate, Chris Pousson remembers Jabbar as ‘Sham’ — apparently a nickname for Shamsud-Din.
Pousson, who went on to serve in the US Air Force, told The Times he remembered Jabbar from middle and high schools as a “quiet, reserved, and really, really smart”.
Pousson said, “He wasn’t a troublemaker at all. He made good grades and was always well-dressed in button-ups and polo shirts.”
However, Pousson noticed a change when he reconnected with Jabbar around 2015 on Facebook. He had converted to Islam by then and used to post “passionate” content about Islam.
“Before, if he was into it, he wasn’t open or verbal about it. It was never Muslim extremist stuff, and he was never threatening any violence, but you could see that he had gotten really passionate,” said Pousson.
The memory of Pousson is in sharp contrast to how the husband of Jabbar’s first wife Nakedra Charrlle Marsh, Dwayne Marsh, describes himself as “all crazy”.
While others describe Jabbar as a perfectly normal and even good, with a sister-in-law telling NBC News he was the “nicest” person she knew, the accounts of ex-wives shine light on signs that were missed along the way.
Dwayne told The Times that Jabbar had been acting erratically in recent months, “being all crazy, cutting his hair” after converting to Islam. He said that he and his wife had stopped allowing his wife’s two daughters with Jabbar, aged 15 and 20, to spend time with their father.
The second wife sought a restraining order from the court against Jabbar. The order said Jabbar has to refrain from threats, physical harm, or other stipulated behavior against his ex-wife and either of their children, according to NBC News.
Jabbar recorded plan to kill family, say officials
Even as investigators piece together information to understand the motive and conspiracy behind the murderous rampage and people struggle to come to terms with the attack, a new piece of evidence has surfaced that sheds more light on how Jabbar descended into extremism without giving most people any hint.
In videos that Jabbar is said to have recorded, which have been accessed by investigators, he discussed planning to kill his family and having dreams that helped inspire him to join Islamic State, multiple officials aware of the investigation told CNN.
The videos were recorded at night while driving but the exact time is not certain, according to CNN.
Two officials who had been briefed on the video told CNN that Jabbar in a video referenced to his divorce and the plan to gather his family for a “celebration” with the intention of killing them. The officials further said that Jabbar said in the videos that he changed his plans and joined Islamic State instead.