New Orleans attack suspect discussed plans to kill his family and join ISIS in chilling recordings: Report

(CNN): In a series of videos, the suspect in the deadly New Year’s attack in New Orleans discussed planning to kill his family and having dreams that helped inspire him to join ISIS, according to multiple officials briefed on the investigation.

Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the 42-year-old man who police suspect drove a pickup truck into a crowd of revelers on Bourbon Street, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens more, made the chilling recordings while driving from his home in Texas to Louisiana, authorities believe.

Jabbar, a US citizen and Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, made reference in the videos to his divorce and how he had at first planned to gather his family for a “celebration” with the intention of killing them, two officials who had been briefed on the recordings said. But Jabbar said in the videos that he changed his plans and joined ISIS, and referenced several dreams that he had about why he should be joining the terrorist group, according to the officials.

Jabbar was killed while exchanging fire with police after ramming the truck through the crowd in the early hours of New Year’s Day. He had potential improvised explosive devices and an ISIS flag in the truck he drove, according to local and federal authorities.

Now, law enforcement authorities are reviewing the videos Jabbar made as they rush to piece in details about how he went from a military veteran to a suspect in a deadly rampage.

Jabbar served in the Army for more than a decade, an Army spokesperson told CNN on Wednesday. He served as a human resource specialist and information technology specialist on active duty between March 2007 and January 2015, and deployed to Afghanistan once from February 2009 to January 2010, the spokesperson said. After leaving active duty in January 2015, Jabbar served in the Army Reserve until July 2020, when he left service as a staff sergeant.

Jabbar was born in Beaumont, Texas, he said in a 2020 YouTube video titled “Personal Introduction,” in which he pitched himself as a professional real estate agent based in Houston.

Serving in the military taught Jabbar “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,” he said in the YouTube video, which has since been taken offline. He sat in the video next to a framed poster with the word “Discipline” in bold, and near a book titled “Leadership.”

Jabbar received an associate degree from Central Texas College in 2010 and a bachelor’s degree from Georgia State University in 2017, according to an online resume. Both degrees were related to computer science and information technology. He later worked in business development and data engineering at the consulting firms Deloitte and Accenture, according to the resume.

Georgia State University confirmed to CNN Jabbar attended from 2015 to 2017 and graduated with a bachelor’s of business administration in Computer Information Systems. Central Texas College and Accenture did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. In a statement, Deloitte said, “We are shocked to learn of reports today that the individual identified as a suspect had any association with our firm. The named individual served in a staff-level role since being hired in 2021. Like everyone, we are outraged by this shameful and senseless act of violence and are doing all we can to assist authorities in their investigation.”

Jabbar obtained a real estate license in 2019, and the license expired in 2023, according to records from the Texas Real Estate Commission. The records show he took a range of real estate classes on topics such as contract law and finance between 2018 and 2021. He is also listed in public records as having previously registered or being associated with several companies in Texas and Georgia.

Jabbar has divorced two of his ex-wives, court documents show. His first wife sued him in 2012 over child support soon after he filed for divorce, and the court issued orders for Jabbar to pay amounts that increased over the years as his income grew. The case was dismissed in 2022.

A Texas judge issued a temporary restraining order against Jabbar in 2020 after his second wife asked for one during their divorce case. The order mandated that Jabbar refrain from threats, physical harm or other stipulated behavior against his ex-wife and either of their children, and required her to avoid the same activity. In a court filing, Jabbar’s ex-wife stated the marriage had become “insupportable because of discord or a conflict of personalities.”

Harris County court records also show that Jabbar pleaded guilty to misdemeanor theft of between $50 and $500 in December 2002, and served nine months of “community supervision.”

In recent years, Jabbar appears to have struggled with his finances. In a January 2022 email filed as part of his divorce case, he wrote that he could not afford a payment on his house, which he said was more than $27,000 past due and “in danger of foreclosure” if his divorce settlement was further delayed.

Jabbar also stated in the email that a business he had formed, Blue Meadow Properties, had lost about $28,000 the prior year, and that other businesses he formed weren’t worth any money. He added that he had incurred about $16,000 in credit card debt.

Jabbar appears to have rented the truck he used in the New Year’s attack, a Ford F-150 Lightning electric truck, on the car rental website Turo, which lets owners rent their vehicles to other people. The truck’s owner told CNN in a text message that it was rented on Turo.

The rental site was also linked to an incident in Las Vegas involving a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside a Trump Hotel Wednesday. The driver of the Cybertruck died in the explosion, police said. Authorities are investigating whether the incident was a terrorist attack.

“We are actively partnering with law enforcement authorities as they investigate both incidents,” a spokesperson from Turo told CNN. “We do not believe that either renter involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat.”

The company remains “committed to maintaining the highest standards in risk management, thanks to our world-class trust and safety technologies and teams that include experienced former law enforcement professionals,” the statement continued.

“We are heartbroken by the violence perpetrated in New Orleans and Las Vegas, and our prayers are with the victims and families,” the statement said.

Turo disabled the truck linked to the New Orleans incident for renting on Wednesday morning. Before it was disabled, the vehicle was listed as costing $105 a day, excluding taxes and fees, and it was unavailable to rent until 12:30 p.m. central time on Wednesday.