Shamsud Din Jabar's New Year's massacre in New Orleans, carried out in a pickup truck flying an ISIS flag, could embolden the terrorist organization to radicalize more Americans, experts say He told FOX News Digital.
Jabbar's brother told the New York Times that he and his older brother, an Army veteran, were raised as Christians in Beaumont, Texas, and that the late attacker converted to Islam as an adult.
“His actions do not represent Islam,” his brother said. “This is not a religion, it's a type of radicalization.”
New Orleans truck attack suspected of being inspired by Islamic State terrorist group
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)
He added that Jabbar didn't know what he wanted to do with his life and started a military career “to get some kind of discipline.”
Law enforcement officials said Jabbar posted a video on his Facebook account pledging allegiance to ISIS on Tuesday while driving from his home in Texas to Louisiana.
Former FBI agents Scott Duffy and Chris Swecker told Fox News Digital that Wednesday's attack could embolden ISIS, other terrorist organizations or radicalized individuals.
New Orleans attack suspect's brother says attack is a sign of 'radicalization': Report
ATF agents search a rental home occupied by Shamsud Din Jabbar on Thursday, January 2, 2024 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Multiple people were killed and dozens injured after Jabbar drove his car into a crowd enjoying New Year's Eve on Bourbon Street on January 2, 2024. Wednesday. (Kat Ramirez, Fox News Digital)
“This is a time when ISIS is under extreme stress and its presence in Syria and elsewhere is threatened. It would make sense to double down on the message of energizing the organization' places,” Swecker said.
The FBI said in a press conference Thursday that before going on a rampage in New Orleans, Jabbar posted multiple videos on Facebook declaring support for ISIS.
“In the first video, Jabbar explains that he only intended to harm his family and friends, but was worried that news headlines would focus on the 'battle between believers and unbelievers.' .” FBI Assistant Director Christopher Reia Said.
ISIS and other terrorist organizations often use social media to recruit new members, experts say.
“ISIS and other foreign adversaries are using all types of social media platforms to spread anti-American ideology, rhetoric, and propaganda,” Duffy said. “This is free speech, designed to slowly convert young people and start questioning American and religious ideals.”
“It starts with soft messaging to get people into the thought process,” he continued. “Links are often provided that direct people to additional messages, instilling division and distrust in government in the minds of impressionable young people.
“I think that in many cases there is an underlying psychological issue that draws the reader to the message, which over time…leads to even more coded violent messages.”
“If someone does what they did yesterday, it's a win for them,” he continued.
New Orleans attack: FBI says no other suspects involved, investigation continues
Investigators search a rental home occupied by suspect Shamsuddin Jabbar on Thursday, January 2, 2024 in New Orleans, Louisiana. On Wednesday, Jabbar plowed his car into a New Year's Eve drinking crowd on Bourbon Street, killing several people and injuring dozens. . (Kat Ramirez, Fox News Digital)
John Ryan, former chief of the New York Port Authority and New Jersey Police Department, said most people become radicalized by online materials.
“He's an IT guy, so he probably knows how to access the dark web, where more material is available,” he said of Jabbar's background in information technology.
“As for whether this could cause others, sadly there are a lot of keyboard warriors out there who have been exposed to this and are looking for some kind of connection. They are struggling with their mental health in the aftermath of COVID-19. Given the high level of the problem and the number of infected people, the answer is yes in the case of protests supporting Hamas, pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel.
Law enforcement officials were initially looking for accomplices in the attack, but the FBI said Thursday that Jabbar appeared to have acted alone. But that doesn't discount the possibility that terrorist organizations are operating within the country, Swecker said.
“If his radicalization was the result of ISIS propaganda and calls to action on the internet, this [still] international terrorism. We call him a homegrown man, but that was directed by a terrorist organization,” Swecker said.
“Even if he didn't have the card, even if he wasn't on the phone with the ISIS chief, even if he was called to action by propaganda on a website, it's international terrorism. There is no difference,” he said. “This is part of the strategy of al-Qaeda and these international organizations.”
Mr. Jabbar is stationed at Fort Bragg (now called Fort Liberty) in North Carolina, where he intentionally caused the explosion that injured seven people outside the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas on New Year's Day. He was the same as Matthew Libersberger, an active-duty U.S. Army soldier who police said was killed in the explosion. .
Investigators have not uncovered any evidence linking the Bourbon Street attack in New Orleans and the Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas, despite the suspects' common military history.
The driver of the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas on New Year's Day has been identified as active-duty U.S. Army soldier Matthew Libersberger (pictured right). Mr. Libersberger's attack occurred within hours of Mr. Jabbar's attack in New Orleans. (Fox News)
“If they were serving at the same base, I think it's still very open, and it's definitely possible that they had connections on the internet and with former military personnel,” Swecker said. Ta. “if [Livelsberger] If he were a convert, he would go to the same place. [religious] service as [Jabbar]. ”
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“what [Jabbar] What happened and what happened in Las Vegas gives credibility to this movement and creates that excitement in other people who might be thinking about it. [carrying] We plan for the short term,” Duffy said.
