NEW ORLEANS, La. — The FBI and local authorities are sharing more details on the suspect in the deadly attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day that claimed at least 15 lives and injured dozens more.
Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, 42, drove into a crowd of people along Bourbon Street around 3:15 a.m., according to the FBI. Police in New Orleans say they believe it was an intentional act and that Jabbar did not act alone.
After finding an ISIS flag in Jabbar’s truck, the FBI says they are investigating this attack as an act of terrorism.
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Jabbar was shot and killed by officers after he opened fire on them, injuring two New Orleans police officers.
Investigators are asking anyone who had contact with Jabbar over the last few days to speak with them.
Who is Shamsud-Din Jabbar?
The FBI has confirmed that Jabbar is a U.S. citizen from Texas and a veteran of the United States Army.
Authorities say they are working to determine if Jabbar has any known affiliations with ISIS.
Jabbar joined the Army in 2007, serving on active duty in human resources and information technology and deploying to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010, the service said. He transferred to the Army Reserve in 2015 and left in 2020 with the rank of staff sergeant.
Action News Jax’s Atlanta station, WSB-TV has learned that Jabbar attended Georgia State University. The school confirmed that he attended from 2015 to 2017 and graduated with a degree in Computer Information Systems.
WSB investigative reporter Ashli Lincoln found two local addresses for Jabbar -- one in Clarkston and one in Marietta -- but no one at either location knew him when she stopped by.
Lincoln also found multiple criminal convictions against Jabbar in Texas. He has been convicted of theft charges, driving with a suspended license and other misdemeanors.
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What did Shamsud-Din Jabbar have with him during the attack?
The FBI says they found an ISIS flag, weapons and a potential explosive device with Jabbar in a Ford F-150 pickup truck after the attack.
Other potential explosives were found spread around the French Quarter in New Orleans. The FBI says technicians are working to determine if those devices are viable and how to make them safe.
ABC News spoke with the owner of the truck, Rodrigo Diaz, who told them that he rented out the truck through the carsharing app Turo. Diaz is currently speaking with the FBI and declined to comment further. His wife told ABC News that they are devastated.
What was Jabbar’s motive?
New Orleans Police Commissioner Anne Kirkpatrick said the driver was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did” and he tried “to run over as many people as he could.”
Investigators have not commented on what led Jabbar to choose Bourbon Street on New Year’s Day as the target of the attack.
Who are the victims?
The death toll from the attack currently sits at 15 and more than two dozen others were injured.
The University of Georgia confirmed that one of its students was critically injured in the attack. That student’s identity and current condition have not been released.
ABC News has identified four of the 15 people who lost their lives in the attack.
Tiger Bech, 27
A former Princeton University football player, Tiger Bech’s mother, Michelle Bech, told ABC News that her son moved to New York City after graduation to work for Seaport Global, a capital markets firm. She said her son was “on top of the world.”
Michelle Bech said her son was in Louisiana for a weekend of hunting and fishing with friends from college. He was scheduled to return to New York City on Wednesday.
Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux, 18
Dedeaux’s mother confirmed to ABC News that she died after going to Bourbon Street to celebrate New Year’s Eve.
Reggie Hunter, 37
A father of two described as “the life of the party,” Hunter’s cousin confirmed his death to ABC News.
“This is hurting all of us differently and on so many levels,” Shirell Jackson said. “We were expecting so much life to live with our cousin … Just a beautiful person that did not deserve this and had so much life to live.”
She says Hunter leaves behind two sons.
Nicole Perez, 27
A mother who leaves behind a 4-year-old son, according to Kimberly Usher-Fall, her employer and family spokesperson.
She told ABC News that Perez had recently been promoted to store manager and was excited about the position. Usher-Fall said Perez would bring her son to work and was helping him learn to read.
“She was a great mother,” Usher-Fall told ABC News’ Diane Macedo. “She just was a really exciting little young lady and she was getting herself together.”
Perez was taken to University Hospital after being hit by the truck, but ultimately died from her injuries.
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