What we know about Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the suspect in the New Orleans attack

(NEW ORLEANS, LA) — The suspect in a deadly attack on New Year’s revelers in New Orleans has been identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S.-born citizen and U.S. Army veteran from Texas, according to the FBI.

At least 15 people were killed and over two dozen injured after a man drove a Ford pickup truck through a crowd on Bourbon Street at a high rate of speed early Wednesday, multiple law enforcement sources and Louisiana Rep. Troy Carter told ABC News.

Authorities are working to determine whether the deceased suspect had any affiliation with terrorist organizations after an ISIS flag was found on a pole on the truck’s trailer hitch.

After barreling through the crowd over a three-block stretch, the suspect allegedly got out of the truck wielding an assault rifle and opened fire on police officers, law enforcement officials briefed on the incident told ABC News. Officers returned fire, killing the suspect, police said. At least two police officers were shot and wounded, authorities said.

“This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could,” New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick said at a press briefing on Wednesday afternoon.

She said the driver was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did.”

Weapons and potential IEDs were located in the suspect’s vehicle and other potential IEDs were located in the French Quarter, according to the FBI, which is leading the investigation. As of now, two IEDs have been found and rendered safe, the FBI said.

Investigators found homemade pipe bombs at the scene of the Bourbon Street attack, law enforcement sources told ABC News. The crude devices contained coils and nails, the sources said. Authorities also found a grenade, which is among the items tested for viability, sources said.

In addition to the assault rifle, Jabbar was allegedly armed with a handgun, sources with knowledge of the investigation told ABC News.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell described the horrific incident as a “terrorist attack” and the FBI said it was being investigated as an act of terror.

The suspect is not believed to be “solely responsible” for the attack, according to the FBI, which said it is pursuing leads to identify any of his associates.

New Orleans police have reviewed surveillance video that appears to show several people planting potential explosive devices in advance of the vehicle ramming, leading the FBI to conclude the driver of the pickup truck did not act alone in the attack, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

Investigators are urgently working to identify the individuals who were seen on camera and take them into custody, the sources said.

Jabbar served in human resources and information technology roles in the Army from 2007 to 2015, during which he deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010, an Army spokesperson confirmed to ABC News. He continued as an IT specialist in the Army Reserve from 2015 to 2020, the spokesperson said. His listed jobs were not direct combat roles.

Jabbar is believed to have been discharged honorably from the Army, though investigators are still looking into his military record, the FBI said.

The suspect had earlier enlisted in the Navy, in August 2024, though he never went to boot camp and was discharged from the delayed entry program one month later, according to a Navy spokesperson.

In a YouTube video posted in 2020, Jabbar says he was born and raised in Beaumont, Texas, and spent a decade working in the U.S. military before becoming a Realtor in the Houston area. His years in the military were spent working as a human resources and IT specialist, Jabbar says in the video, which has since been removed from YouTube.

The suspect has been living in the Houston area, according to Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Authorities with the FBI and Harris County Sheriff’s Office were “conducting law enforcement activity” in an area of north Houston in connection with the New Orleans attack, FBI Houston said Wednesday afternoon.

The truck used in the attack had a Texas license plate, according to Carter.

The vehicle appeared to be a Ford F-150 Lightning, an electric vehicle. It appears the truck was rented through the Turo app — a carsharing company, according to Rodrigo Diaz, the owner of the truck.

Diaz told ABC News he rented the truck to an individual through the app and is currently talking to the FBI. He declined further comment.

Diaz’s wife, Dora Diaz, told ABC News that she and her husband are devastated by the incident.

“My husband rents cars through the Turo app. I can’t tell you anything else. I’m here with my kids, and this is devastating,” Dora Diaz said.

ABC News has reached out to Turo.

The suspect rented the truck on Monday, according to Patrick.

“[We] have learned he was driving the rented truck in Houston before heading to New Orleans,” Patrick said.

ABC News’ Matt Seyler contributed to this report.

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