The 42-year-old Texas consultant is Shamsud Din Jabbar He killed 14 people and injured 30 more as he drove through a crowd of people celebrating the New Year in New Orleans, marking the start of 2025, and hoisted an ISIS flag from the hitch of his rented pickup truck.
During the 350-mile drive from Houston to the Big Easy, Jabbar declares allegiance to ISIS and initially intends to kill his own friends and family, but in order to get more attention he kills innocent He shot a selfie video in which he said he decided to attack the general public. He called it a “war between believers and unbelievers,” according to the FBI.
He was a US Army veteran who had a well-paying job at a major consulting firm, but was said to have become radicalized in just a few weeks, bringing an IED and two firearms to attack civilians. There is. And as New Orleans authorities ramp up security in the wake of the ramming attack on the city's iconic pedestrian-filled Bourbon Street, authorities are warning of similar lone wolf attacks and their dangers. are.
National security and foreign policy expert James Jay Carafano warned in a recent Fox News op-ed that “ISIS and others are back.” “Biden's humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan has reignited hopes that America was really the papier-mâché tiger Osama bin Laden claimed.”
New Orleans terrorist radicalized by ISIS online within weeks, FBI director says
The FBI has released photos of surveillance footage from early January 1, 2025, showing Shamsuddin Jabbar driving his truck on Bourbon Street in New Orleans an hour before the incident. (Federal Bureau of Investigation, via AP)
Although this shockingly violent group's “territorial caliphate” was destroyed during the first Trump administration, its propagandists continue to encourage and radicalize potential terrorists. FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Reia told a news conference that Mr. Jabbar declared in one of his videos that he had “joined ISIS before this summer.”
“The threats of international terrorism, domestic terrorism, and state-sponsored terrorism are complex and persistent, and, remarkably, they are all increasing at the same time,” Raia said. “We face constant threats from foreign terrorist organizations, violent extremists across the ideological spectrum, and criminals intent on bringing violence to the United States.”
A black flag with white letters is crumpled on the ground behind the pickup truck that a man drove into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing and injuring multiple people early Wednesday morning, January 1, 2025. Ta. The FBI said it recovered an Islamic flag with white text on a black background from the vehicle. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Mr. Jabbar traveled to Cairo, Egypt from June 22, 2023 to July 3, 2023, after which he returned to the United States. On another trip on July 10, 2023, he traveled to Ontario, Canada, and returned to the United States several days later, the FBI said. he said at a press conference. It is unclear whether the trip was related to the attack, but Raia said the bureau is looking into whether Jabbar had any associates in the United States or abroad.
Body language expert says New Orleans attacker showed 'red flags' before attack
Investigators said they were still investigating how and why Jabbar became radicalized. In an interview with60 minutes” Over the weekend, FBI Director Christopher Wray said he believed the killer was inspired by ISIS content he found on the internet.
Shamsud Din Jabbar, the suspect in the New Orleans attack, is seen in a social media photo taken in November 2013 at Fort Johnson (formerly Fort Polk) in Louisiana, USA. are. (1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, via Facebook, via Reuters)
”[Jabbar] “From a distance, it appears to be inspired by ISIS, which is in many ways one of the most difficult types of terrorists we face,” Wray told interviewer Scott Pelley. It's a threat.” It radicalizes in weeks rather than years, and its attack methods, while still very deadly, are much cruder. And if you think about the old saying of connecting the dots, there aren't that many dots you can connect. And there is little time to connect them. ”
What we know about the victims of the New Orleans terrorist attack
Wray has warned that lone wolf attacks are a top priority for the FBI, which began warning about the growing threat more than a year ago.
Earlier this month, the New York Times pointed out that the image of Mr. Jabbar flying a flag from the rear trailer hitch of his rented Ford F-150 EV was the same as an ISIS propaganda poster the newspaper uncovered. daily mail, In 2017.
Law enforcement authorities continue to shut down Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Thursday, January 2, 2024, after the New Year's attack. (Audrey Conklin/Fox News Digital)
The image shows an SUV driving over a pile of skulls with a city in the background, with the caption in English: “Run over without mercy.” That year saw terrorist attacks on vehicles in London, New York City, Jerusalem, Barcelona, and other cities.
A year ago, ISIS-inspired terrorists drove a truck into Bastille Day celebrations in Nice, France, killing 84 people.
Former New York City Police Department Inspector General Paul Mauro said older terrorist organizations like al-Qaeda were responsible for the highly planned global attacks of September 11, 2001 and the car bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993. The focus was on attacks such as . ISIS has facilitated a shift to small-scale but brutal attacks that can be carried out anywhere in the world.
“There was no need to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge. If you stab your neighbor because he's an apostate, you're a lion of Islam,” he said.
As ISIS rose to prominence, terrorists posted horrifying videos of highly produced violence, with extremely graphic depictions of torture and murder.
US threat landscape and domestic extremism pose a difficult but familiar test for President Trump's second term
However, even after defeat, the terrorist organization continues to maintain an online presence, including propaganda videos and weekly newsletters, the newspaper reported. times report.
A member loyal to the Islamic State waves an ISIS flag in Raqqa on June 29, 2014. (Reuters/Stringer)
About a year before Mr. Jabbar's rampage, ISIS propagandists called on supporters to break into people's homes and “kill them wherever they find them.” voice of america It was reported at the time.
Mauro said counterterrorism agents have been fighting lone wolves for years, inspired by such campaigns.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
He calls this the “loser vs. lion” syndrome. Radicalized loners who see nothing going right for them become convinced that they can be martyred by acts of terrorism.
But even with increased monitoring and awareness of the problem, attackers can still slip through the cracks.
In another New Year's attack on December 31, 2022, a 19-year-old Maine man named Trevor Bickford drove to New York City and attacked three police officers with a machete while shouting “Allah Akbar”. attacked.
He was already under FBI surveillance and reportedly became radicalized earlier that year and decided to “wage a holy war.” He is serving a 27-year prison sentence.
FOX News' Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.
