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New Orleans Attack Suspect's Chilling Confessions Revealed in ISIS-Related Audio Recordings

Texas Man Suspected of Killing At Least 10 in New Orleans Shooting Spree.

A
series of videos posted by Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the man responsible for the New Year's attack in New Orleans, revealed his plans to kill his family and his inspiration from ISIS, according to officials briefed on the investigation. The 42-year-old Texas-born US citizen and Army veteran drove a pickup truck into a crowd of revelers on Bourbon Street, killing 14 people and injuring dozens more.

    Jabbar posted five videos on Facebook in the hours leading up to the attack, referencing his divorce and initially planning to gather his family for a "celebration" with the intention of killing them. However, he changed his plans to focus attention on the "war between believers and disbelievers," said Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI's Counterterrorism Division.

    Jabbar stated in the videos that he had joined ISIS before this summer, and an ISIS flag was found in the truck he drove. He also planted two improvised explosive devices hours before the attack, which took place around 3:15 a.m. on New Year's Day. Jabbar was killed while exchanging fire with police.

    Jabbar's family is struggling to understand how he went from being a kind and soft-spoken person to committing such a horrific act. His brother Abdur said that Jabbar never spoke about ISIS or showed any signs of radicalization, and their father Rahim added that there was no indication of trouble in the family.

    Jabbar served in the Army for over a decade, including a deployment to Afghanistan, and later worked as a real estate agent and data engineer. However, he had also struggled with finances and had several run-ins with the law, including a DUI charge and a guilty plea to misdemeanor theft.

    The investigation is reviewing Jabbar's videos, phones, and laptops, as well as his rental of a truck on Turo, which was used in the attack. The company has disabled the vehicle for renting and is cooperating with authorities.

New Orleans suspect confesses to ISIS-related crimes in chilling audio recordings.