We take no pleasure in continuing to reaffirm that hatred and violence take no vacation in the United States of America. Even after surviving a hellish 2024, as soon as 2025 was christened, someone was plotting to take lives and shed blood.
According to APNewsShamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, is the man who the FBI says rammed his pickup truck into a crowd of partygoers on New Orleans' famous Bourbon Street in the early hours of January 1, 2025.
The attack killed 14 people (15 including Jabbar who was shot by police following the incident) and the FBI calls the incident an act of terrorism because it believes Jabbar was acting on behalf of the state Islamic. A black man representing the Islamic State group was masked by law enforcement at the scene, likely to avoid encouraging others to imitate the terrorist organization.
Here's what we know about Jabbar at this point:
Jabbar joined the Army in 2007, serving on active duty in human resources and information technology and deployed to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010, the service said. He transferred to the Army Reserve in 2015 and left in 2020 with the rank of staff sergeant.
AP noted that law enforcement has finished processing the scene and removing the dead and injured bodies from Bourbon Street and that normal operations are expected to resume today.
We will provide more information as it becomes available.