Kochi: Shamsud Din Jabbar, 42, who slammed his Islamic State flag bearing rented vehicle into the New Year celebration at New Orleans killing 15 people has been identified as a U.S. Army veteran, media reports said.
Jabbar drove the pickup truck steering around a police blockade and slammed into revelers. He got out of the vehicle a n d started firing at cops who fired back and killed him.
The FBI suspected it as a terrorist act and was probing if the driver acted alone. Cops found guns and what appeared to be an improvised explosive device in the vehicle.
A US citizen, Jabbar was having severe financial difficulties despite holding a $120,000-a-year job, the reports said.
He was married and divorced twice.
Jabbar was in the Army in 2007 to 2020 during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan where over one U.S. troops were deployed.
Initially, he worked as a human resource specialist. Later, he became an IT specialist in the Army from 2009 to 2020. Jabbar’s motive for the attack is not known.
FBI’s bomb technicians were examining explosive devices found in the truck.
An initial review of his record showed his time in the Army to be unremarkable.
Photo Credit: X
