The terrorist who killed 15 people when he ploughed his truck down a crowded New Orleans street lived in a run-down caravan park where he kept sheep and goats in the yard.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, had an ISIS flag strapped to the rented Ford F-150 Lightning EV truck he used to carry out an act of premeditated terror on New Year’s Day, authorities say. A witness said the military veteran, born in Houston, Texas, was "hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did" but police believe he was not solely responsible.
Jabbar, who is reportedly twice divorced, was shot and killed by officers following his devastation on New Year's Day. It has since emerged the dad, who worked as an IT specialist, lived in a rickety trailer in Houston, where geese, sheep and goats roamed his garden.
The community of mobile homes and caravans mostly houses Muslim immigrants, New York Post reports. A neighbour told one of its reporters Jabbar was a "simple person" who kept to himself. They added: "[He was] pretty quiet…Just walking, [he would say] 'hello,' 'hola,' and that was it."
But armed police in dozens of vehicles swarmed the community on Wednesday, as they continued to investigate the New Orleans atrocity. Although the two cities are around 350 miles apart, it is said Jabbar was determined to carry out his attack, reportedly inspired by ISIS, as revellers welcomed 2025.
Jabbar served in the Army for more than a decade and was deployed to Afghanistan, stationed there from February 2009 to January 2010. His service record details extensive military experience, eventually becoming staff sergeant when he left the military.
Images taken during his time there show a studious Jabbar deep in concentration as he works on a computer, a skill he would later deploy during his time as an IT specialist. Having studied at Georgia State University, graduating with a degree in computer information systems, Jabbar developed a huge knowledge for software.
But the terror attack - one of the deadliest since 9/11 - has rocked the US. It happened on Bourbon Street, known for its vibrant nightlife and ample restaurants, bars and clubs with live music.
Investigators there found multiple improvised explosives, including two pipe bombs that were concealed within coolers and wired for remote detonation, according to a Louisiana State Police intelligence bulletin obtained by The Associated Press.
The bulletin, relying on preliminary information gathered soon after the attack, also cited surveillance footage that it said showed three men and a woman placing one of the devices, but federal officials did not immediately confirm that detail and it wasn’t clear who they were or what connection they had to the attack, if any.
Police described the act as "very intentional". New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick said: "This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could." Jabbar was also armed and fired on law enforcement, injuring two officers, before he himself was shot dead.
Zion Parsons, 18, of Gulfport, Mississippi, said he saw the truck “barrelling through, throwing people like in a movie scene, throwing people into the air”.
“Bodies, bodies all up and down the street, everybody screaming and hollering,” Mr Parsons, whose friend Nikyra Dedeaux was among those people killed, said.
Law enforcement sources in Houston told New York Post they found videos Jabbar made in which he referenced the Quran — Islam’s holy text. In a YouTube video posted in 2020, Jabbar said his time in the military had taught him "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".
It is understood the dad, sued for child support payments in 2012, had been arrested twice - once in Texas in 2002 for theft, and another three years later for driving without a valid licence.
Amid his second divorce in 2022, he said he had racked up more than $16,000 (£12,700) in credit card debt paying court fees and expenses for a second home.