BEAUMONT, Texas — Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s highschool mates knew him as “Sham” — a very good pupil with a quiet disposition and a vivid future. He went on to turn into a mannequin soldier within the Army, the place his work ethic and perspective impressed his commander throughout a tour in Afghanistan.
“He was an awesome soldier, somebody who confirmed self-discipline and dedication,” the commander, Rich Groen, posted on social media.
But over the previous few years, as Jabbar labored to climb the company ladder, his life started to deteriorate. He confronted extreme cash issues and a 3rd divorce. At some level, he fell below the sway of the Islamic State, the terrorist group often called ISIS.
On New Year’s Eve, Jabbar, 42, drove a rented truck from Houston to New Orleans, authorities stated, posting movies on-line alongside the way in which through which he professed his assist for ISIS. Once he reached Bourbon Street, he planted two improvised explosive units after which bought again into his truck and plowed into revelers, killing 14 earlier than police shot and killed him in a gunbattle.
In some methods, Jabbar, together with his private life and funds in shambles, matches the profile of those that consultants say are almost definitely to show to extremist teams to search out which means and a way of goal.
The assault has shocked and confused his family and friends members. How might somebody so sort and unassuming, some have stated in interviews and social media posts, find yourself finishing up such a heinous act of terrorism?
“It’s an entire shock, a shock, to everybody,” Jabbar’s half-brother, Abdur-Rahim Jabbar IV, 24, stated in an interview.
“There weren’t any moments main as much as this that had been obvious or purple flags to indicate that he’s been radicalized or modified in any method from the loving brother and father and son that everyone knows,” he stated.
Investigators try to determine Jabbar’s path to radicalization. At a information convention Thursday morning, legislation enforcement officers conceded that they’d little perception into his transformation.
“Loads of questions we’re nonetheless asking ourselves,” stated Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division. “What I can inform you proper now’s that he was 100% impressed by ISIS. We’re digging via extra of the social media, extra interviews, working with a few of our different companions to establish a bit bit extra about that connection.”
‘Time is of the essence’
Jabbar grew up in Beaumont, a metropolis in japanese Texas close to the Louisiana border. He attended Central High School, the place he was recognized for his well mannered, easygoing method and polished look. He tended to put on button-up shirts and polos, former classmates stated.
“He was very grounded, reserved, quiet,” stated Chris Pousson, who attended center faculty and highschool with Jabbar.
After he graduated in 2001, Jabbar sought to serve his nation. He initially tried to enlist within the Navy in 2004, in accordance with three U.S. protection officers, however he left after solely a month. He then joined the Army, working as a human useful resource specialist and data expertise specialist from 2007 to 2015.
His unit deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010.
Groen, Jabbar’s commander, wrote on social media that he labored “quietly and professionally” as a human sources officer and mail clerk in Afghanistan, “making certain the little issues that stored us all linked to dwelling had been achieved with care and precision.”
“To suppose that the identical particular person who as soon as embodied quiet professionalism might harbor a lot hate, resulting in such unspeakable atrocities, is meaningless and heartbreaking,” added Groen, who declined an interview request.
After his time within the navy, Jabbar attended Georgia State University and majored in laptop data methods, a college spokesperson stated.
He was quoted in an article for the student newspaper in 2015 concerning the challenges navy veterans face navigating faculty life.
“The tradition isn’t an excessive amount of totally different however when you get out of the navy there’s so many alternative acronyms you’ve discovered,” Jabbar stated. “And as you transition out … you don’t know how one can communicate with out utilizing these phrases and also you’re unsure what phrases are used outdoors the navy.”
He additionally stated veterans must be extraordinarily diligent to make sure they obtain funds via the GI Bill.
“It’s such a big company,” he stated, referring to the Department of Veterans Affairs. “You must do your due diligence, ensure you have your paperwork collectively.”
Jabbar regarded again fondly on his time within the service and inspired his half-brother to comply with in his footsteps.
“It set him straight,” Abdur-Rahim Jabbar stated, referring to a interval after highschool when Jabbar was partying and had some minor run-ins with the legislation. “It gave him some self-discipline and grounded him.”
After he graduated in 2017, Jabbar tried his hand in actual property. In a promotional video posted to YouTube in 2020, he stated his time within the navy helped him be taught “the which means of nice service and what it means to be responsive.”
But his actual property profession was short-lived. He started working for the Deloitte consulting agency in 2021, an organization spokesperson stated.
By then, his life was already starting to fray. He was in divorce proceedings together with his third spouse — his first marriage ended round 2012 and his second in 2016 — and in deep monetary bother, in accordance with court docket information.
The firm he shaped, Blue Meadow Properties, misplaced $28,000 in 2021 and he had $16,000 in bank card debt, he wrote in an e mail to his then-wife’s lawyer.
“Time is of the essence,” Jabbar wrote. “I can’t afford the home fee. It is late in extra of $27,000 and in peril of foreclosures if we delay settling the divorce.”
Jabbar made about $58 an hour at Deloitte and labored 40 hours per week, taking dwelling a internet revenue of $7,876.70 a month, in accordance with paperwork he filed with the court docket.
But his month-to-month bills totaled round $9,000. In August 2022, he had solely $2,012 in his financial institution accounts, in accordance with the filings.
Despite his monetary troubles, Jabbar nonetheless confirmed up for his household. His half-brother stated that their father had a stroke in 2023 and that Jabbar steadily got here by to assist deal with him.
“He helped me bathe him, change him, feed him,” Abdur-Rahim Jabbar stated.
‘Prays at dwelling’
It stays unclear when Jabbar first turned interested in ISIS. His half-brother stated that their father was Muslim and that Jabbar’s mom was Christian however transformed after they married.
Jabbar was open about his Muslim religion. He made it clear that he wasn’t into ingesting or partying, however he didn’t discuss it in a strident method, his half-brother stated.
They hardly ever mentioned faith, however the struggle in Gaza did come up in a dialog final 12 months.
“He was upset about what’s occurring in Palestine,” Abdur-Rahim Jabbar stated. He remembered his brother saying “it was genocide on each side.”
Jabbar appeared to turn into extra religious after his most up-to-date divorce, Abdur-Rahim Jabbar stated, however he by no means mentioned ISIS or any radical ideologies.
“He was looking for himself,” he stated.
Jabbar posted audio messages about Islam to a SoundCloud account in early 2024. In one titled “Satan’s Voice,” he describes music because the “voice of Satan.”
“It is a delicate, gradual luring into the issues that God has made forbidden to us — the intoxicants like marijuana, alcohol, sedatives, opioids, stimulants and others,” he says. “Then there may be the way in which that music entices us to elicit intercourse, vulgarity, violence, betrayal, conceitedness, housebreaking, dishonest.”
Pousson, his highschool pal, stated Jabbar steadily posted about his Islamic religion on Facebook however gave no trace of radicalization.
“It was all the time optimistic — peace be with you, uplifting sort of stuff,” Pousson stated. “Nothing that he posted on-line that I noticed was detrimental.”
“I didn’t see this coming from a mile away,” he added.
One of Jabbar’s neighbors in Texas stated he by no means noticed him on the native mosque. “He says he prays at dwelling,” stated the neighbor, who requested to stay nameless.
The neighbor stated Jabbar was “good” and “quiet” and largely stored to himself.
On the morning of New Year’s Eve, the neighbor stated, he noticed Jabbar loading a white truck outdoors his dwelling. The neighbor went over to see whether or not he wanted a hand, and Jabbar stated he was shifting to Louisiana.
“He stated he bought a job over there,” the neighbor recalled.
It was someday on New Year’s Day that the neighbor discovered Jabbar had traveled to New Orleans for a really totally different cause.
