NEW ORLEANS (Louisiana Illuminator) – The man the FBI said was behind the wheel of a pickup truck that killed at least 15 people and injured 35 more Wednesday morning on Bourbon Street was a military veteran and former real estate agent from Texas.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, was killed when he engaged police in a shootout after steering around a police barricade and striking dozens of people over a three-block stretch of Bourbon Street. Two New Orleans police officers who were wounded in the exchange of gunfire are hospitalized and expected to recover, New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said.
There are no apparent long-term ties between Jabbar and Louisiana. He recently told his landlord in Houston that he was planning to move to New Orleans, The Times-Picayune reported.
Jabbar held a real estate license in Texas from 2018-23, according to a state records database. In a video posted to YouTube, he identified himself as a property manager for the Midas Group Blue Meadow Properties Inc.
Online records show Jabbar also worked with Deloitte, the international financial services firm.
The FBI confirmed that Jabbar was born in the United States and served in the Army. There was no immediate response from the U.S. Department of Defense to a request for information on Jabbar’s military background, with the federal government recognizing the New Year’s Day holiday.
Georgia State University confirmed Jabbar attended school there from 2015-17 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems. An article from the campus newspaper posted online indicated that his tuition was covered through the GI Bill.
Court records in Texas show Jabbar filed for divorce from his wife in Fort Bend County, Texas in July 2020. A notice of nonsuit to dismiss the case was filed the following month. Jabbar listed a Beaumont, Texas, address on the petition.
An Islamic State flag hung from a pole attached to the trailer hitch of the pickup truck Jabbar drove onto Bourbon Street. The FBI is looking into his connections to the jihadist organization or any other terror groups.
Authorities have not identified anyone else they believe might have collaborated on the terror attack with Jabbar, nor have they said how many other people they think were involved.
Wes Muller contributed to this report.
