New Orleans truck attack: US army veteran who was ‘quiet and smart’ – what we know about suspect

Published

6 months ago

January 3, 2025

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The suspect in the New Orleans truck attack has been identified as army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar.

The FBI said he was a 42-year-old US citizen from Texas. Talking about himself in a work video in 2020, Jabbar said he was born and raised in the state.

Fourteen people were killed in the suspected terror attack, while about 30 more were injured.

New Orleans attack – follow latest

The attack

US army veteran Jabbar is believed to have driven a Ford pick-up truck into a crowd of people celebrating the New Year in Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of the southern US city.

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

“It was very intentional behaviour. This man was trying to run over as many people as he could,” said police chief Anne Kirkpatrick.

Superintendent Kirkpatrick said the driver, who swerved around barricades, shot and wounded two police officers from the vehicle after it crashed.

The officers were in a stable condition following the attack, she added.

Jabbar died in firefight

Jabbar was killed in a firefight with police following the attack, which happened at about 3.15am local time (9.15am UK time) on Wednesday, New Year’s Day.

The bureau said the truck appeared to have been rented.

It also said an IS flag, weapons, and a potential improvised explosive device (IED) were found in the vehicle.

Investigators recovered a handgun and an AR-style rifle after the shootout, a law enforcement official said.

Jabbar posted five videos on his social media accounts before the rampage, the FBI said.

In his first clip, he said he was initially planning to harm his own family and friends, but was concerned news headlines would not focus on the “war between the believers and disbelievers”, said Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counter-terrorism division.

Jabbar also stated that he had joined Islamic State (IS) “before this summer”, and provided a will, the counter-terrorism investigator added.

He also posted several videos on the evening of 31 December proclaiming his support for IS.

The FBI has been reviewing two laptops found at Jabbar’s home during a search, as well as three mobile phones.

Jabbar was an army veteran

Jabbar served in the US army on active duty from 2007 to 2015, then in the army reserves from 2015 to 2020.

He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 and was a staff sergeant when he left with an honourable discharge in 2020.

Separately, he tried to enlist in the navy in 2004 but never actually shipped or began training.

A navy spokesperson said: “Our records show that a Shamsuddin Bahar Jabbar enlisted on 12 August 2004, in Navy Recruiting District Houston and was discharged from the Delayed Entry Programme one month later on 13 September 2004.

“He did not go to Recruit Training Command. The DOB matches. Because he did not serve in the navy, there is no additional information to add to the attached biography.”

NBC, Sky News’ US network partner, reported that Jabbar was a human resource specialist and information technology specialist from 2007 to January 2015 in the regular US army.

He was also an IT specialist in the army reserves between 2015 and 2020.

He also attended Georgia State University from 2015 to 2017, and graduated with a BBA in computer information systems, a spokesperson from the university told NBC.

Whilst at the university, Jabbar gave an interview to the student newspaper in which he said he struggled to adjust to civilian life after leaving the military.

Author of the article, Sean Keenan, recalled in The New York Times that Jabbar complained about the complexity of veterans trying to get funding for tuition and other educational benefits and how he found it tricky not to use military jargon at the time of the interview.

‘Quiet, smart, articulate’

A childhood friend said Jabbar’s alleged actions on New Year’s Day don’t align at all with the person he knew growing up in Beaumont, Texas.

“What happened today was a complete 180 of anything I ever knew about him,” Chris Pousson, told NBC.

Referring to him as “Sham”, Mr Pousson said he last spoke with Jabbar sometime in 2017 in 2018.

“He was very quiet, very reserved, smart, articulate,” he said.

He said he first met Jabbar in 1996 at Beaumont Middle School. They became instant friends and later attended the same high school. After graduating, the two lost touch when Jabbar joined the army and Mr Pousson joined the air force.

Several years later they reconnected on Facebook. It was then Mr Pousson noticed Jabbar’s posts focused on his Muslim faith.

“It was always positive – peace be with you, uplifting type of stuff,” Mr Pousson said. “Nothing that he posted online that I saw was negative.

“I didn’t see this coming from a mile away.”

The suspect’s brother, Abdur Jabbar, told The New York Times that they last spoke two weeks ago. He said Jabbar did not mention any desire to go to New Orleans.

The 24-year-old said that they had both been brought up Christian, but his brother had converted to Islam a long time ago.

“As far as I know he was a Muslim for most of his life,” Mr Jabbar said.

“What he did does not represent Islam. This is more some type of radicalisation, not religion.”

According to Mr Jabbar, his brother had a six-year-old son and older daughters, The Times reported.

YouTube video

Jabbar is known to have appeared in a promotional video on YouTube in 2020 talking about his real estate business.

In the footage, he said he was born and raised in Beaumont, Texas. He said he served in the military for 10 years as a human resources and IT specialist, learning the importance of great service and taking everything seriously.

“I’ve taken those skills and applied them to my career as a real estate agent, where I feel like what really sets me apart from other agents is my ability to be able to… be a fierce negotiator,” he said, encouraging clients to give him a call.

It is also known Jabbar had been working at professional services giant Deloitte since 2021.

In a statement confirming his employment, the company, which provides audit, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, tax, and legal services, told NBC it was shocked to learn of its connection to Jabbar.

“Like everyone, we are outraged by this shameful and senseless act of violence and are doing all we can to assist authorities in their investigation,” Deloitte managing director Jonathan Gandal said.

Possible links to Las Vegas explosion

Just hours after the attack in New Orleans, a rented Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside Donald Trump’s hotel in Las Vegas.

One person inside the vehicle died and seven others suffered minor injuries.

FBI officials and Las Vegas sheriffs on Thursday said they believe the man driving the rented car was 37-year-old US army soldier Matthew Livelsberger, from Colorado, although this was still to be officially confirmed through DNA.

Speaking during a news conference in Las Vegas, Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said his force was “not ruling out” links between the two incidents – despite the FBI earlier appearing to downplay any possible connection, saying there was “no definitive link” at this stage during a separate news conference in New Orleans a few hours earlier.

“It’s an interesting thing in these kind of investigations that, if these turn out to be simply similarities, (they are) very strange similarities to have,” Mr McMahill said.

Both Jabbar and Livelsberger had served at a base formerly known as Fort Bragg, a centre in North Carolina that is home to special forces command.

Law enforcement officers were also looking into the fact both men used the Turo car app to rent the vehicles involved in both incidents.

Previous arrests

Jabbar was arrested in Texas in 2002 for theft, classed as a misdemeanour, and he was fined $100 by a court.

He was also arrested in the same state in 2005 for driving with an invalid licence, also classed as a misdemeanour, and was fined $100 by a court.

Twice married

Civil records show Jabbar was married twice, with his first marriage ending in 2012, NBC reported.

A petition for a second divorce was initiated in 2021.

Public records show that in 2020, Jabbar’s then wife filed a motion for a temporary restraining order against him.

The order stated that both parties should not engage in “intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causing bodily injury to the other party or to a child of either party” or “threatening the other party or a child of either party with imminent bodily injury”.

The divorce was finalised in 2022. Jabbar and his ex-wife were granted joint custody of their child.

A woman who identified herself to NBC as Jabbar’s sister-in-law and asked to not be named said relatives in Texas were in shock when they heard the news.

It makes “no sense,” she said. “He’s the nicest person I’ve ever known.”

“I really don’t know what happened,” she added. “He was a good man. He takes care of his children and everything.”

FBI says other possible explosives found

Two other potential IEDs were also located in the French Quarter and were made safe, the FBI said.

The historic area is known for attracting large crowds with its music and bars.

US

Donald Trump announces 30% tariff on imports from EU

Published

11 hours ago

July 12, 2025

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Donald Trump announces 30% tariff on imports from EU

Donald Trump has announced he will impose a 30% tariff on imports from the European Union from 1 August.

The tariffs could make everything from French cheese and Italian leather goods to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals more expensive in the US.

Mr Trump has also imposed a 30% tariff on goods from Mexico, according to a post from his Truth Social account.

Announcing the moves in separate letters on the account, the president said the US trade deficit was a national security threat.

In his letter to the EU, he wrote: “We have had years to discuss our trading relationship with The European Union, and we have concluded we must move away from these long-term, large, and persistent, trade Deficits, engendered by your tariff, and non-Tariff, policies, and trade barriers.

“Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from reciprocal.”

In his letter to Mexico, Mr Trump said he did not think the country had done enough to stop the US from turning into a “narco-trafficking playground”.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said today that the EU could adopt “proportionate countermeasures” if the US proceeds with imposing the 30% tariff.

Ms von der Leyen, who heads the EU’s executive arm, said in a statement that the bloc remained ready “to continue working towards an agreement by Aug 1”.

“Few economies in the world match the European Union’s level of openness and adherence to fair trading practices,” she continued.

“We will take all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required.”

Ms von der Leyen has also said imposing tariffs on EU exports would “disrupt essential transatlantic supply chains”.

Meanwhile, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said on the X social media platform that Mr Trump’s announcement was “very concerning and not the way forward”.

He added: “The European Commission can count on our full support. As the EU we must remain united and resolute in pursuing an outcome with the United States that is mutually beneficial.”

Mexico’s economy ministry said a bilateral working group aims to reach an alternative to the 30% US tariffs before they are due to take effect.

The country was informed by the US that it would receive a letter about the tariffs, the ministry’s statement said, adding that Mexico was negotiating.

Trump’s tariff threats and delays

On his so-called “liberation day” in April, Mr Trump unleashed “reciprocal tariffs” on many of America’s trade partners.

The US president said he was targeting countries with which America has a trade imbalance.

However, since then he’s backed down in a spiralling tit-for-tat tariff face-off with China, and struck a deal with the UK.

The US imposed a 20% tariff on imported goods from the EU in April but it was later paused and the bloc has since been paying a baseline tariff of 10% on goods it exports to the US.

In May, while the US and EU where holding trade negotiations, Mr Trump threated to impose a 50% tariff on the bloc as talks didn’t progress as he would have liked.

However, he later announced he was delaying the imposition of that tariff while negotiations over a trade deal took place.

As of earlier this week, the EU’s executive commission, which handles trade issues for the bloc’s 27-member nations, said its leaders were still hoping to strike a trade deal with the Trump administration.

Without one, the EU said it was prepared to retaliate with tariffs on hundreds of American products, ranging from beef and auto parts to beer and Boeing airplanes.

US

Donald Trump plans to hit Canada with new tariff – while warning of blanket hike for other countries

Published

2 days ago

July 11, 2025

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Donald Trump plans to hit Canada with new tariff - while warning of blanket hike for other countries

Donald Trump has said he plans to hit Canada with a 35% tariff on imported goods, as he warned of a blanket 15 or 20% hike for most other countries.

In a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, the US president wrote: “I must mention that the flow of Fentanyl is hardly the only challenge we have with Canada, which has many Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers.”

Mr Trump’s tariffs were allegedly an effort to get Canada to crack down on fentanyl smuggling, and the US president has expressed frustration with Canada’s trade deficit with the US.

In a statement Mr Carney said: “Throughout the current trade negotiations with the United States, the Canadian government has steadfastly defended our workers and businesses. We will continue to do so as we work towards the revised deadline of August 1.”

He added: “Canada has made vital progress to stop the scourge of fentanyl in North America. We are committed to continuing to work with the United States to save lives and protect communities in both our countries.”

Mr Trump has sent a series of tariff letters to 23 countries so far, including one putting a 50% tariff on Brazil in part for the ongoing trial of its former president Jair Bolsonaro for trying to stay in office after he lost the election in 2022.

Mr Trump was similarly indicted for his efforts to overturn his election loss in 2020.

The higher rates would go into effect on 1 August.

Shortly after Mr Trump unveiled his “Liberation Day” tariffs on 2 April, there was a huge sell-off on the financial markets. The US president later announced a 90-day negotiating period, during which a 10% baseline tariff would be charged on most imported goods.

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But in an interview with Sky News’s partner network NBC News, Mr Trump said he plans to impose higher blanket tariffs on most US trade partners.

“We’re just going to say all of the remaining countries are going to pay, whether it’s 20% or 15%. We’ll work that out now,” he said.

He added: “I think the tariffs have been very well-received. The stock market hit a new high today.”

The US and UK signed a trade deal in June, with the US president calling it “a fair deal for both” and saying it will “produce a lot of jobs, a lot of income”.

Sir Keir Starmer said the document “implements” the deal to cut tariffs on cars and aerospace, adding: “So this is a very good day for both of our countries – a real sign of strength.”

The US president also teased a “major statement” he will make on Russia over its war with Ukraine.

“I’m disappointed in Russia, but we’ll see what happens over the next couple of weeks,” he said.

“I think I’ll have a major statement to make on Russia on Monday.”

It comes as Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said a new round of talks between Moscow and Washington on bilateral problems could take place before the end of the summer.

US

Palestinian activist detained by ICE suing Trump administration for $20m

Published

2 days ago

July 11, 2025

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A Palestinian activist who was detained for over three months in a US immigration jail after protesting against Israel is suing Donald Trump’s administration for $20m (£15m) in damages.

Lawyers for Mahmoud Khalil have filed a claim against the administration alleging he was falsely imprisoned, maliciously prosecuted and smeared as an antisemite as the government sought to deport him over his role in campus protests.

The 30-year-old graduate student at Columbia University told Sky News’s lead world presenter Yalda Hakim being detained by ICE agents in March “felt like kidnapping”.

He described “plain-clothed agents and unmarked cars” taking him “from one place to another, expecting you just to follow orders and shackled all the time”, which he said was “really scary”.

Mr Khalil said he was not presented with an arrest warrant and wasn’t told where he was being taken.

He said the detention centre he was taken to was “as far from humane as it could be” and “a place where you have no rights whatsoever”.

“You share a dorm with over 70 men with no privacy, with lights on all the time, with really terrible food. You’re basically being dehumanised at every opportunity. It’s a black hole,” he added.

Mr Khalil said he would also accept an official apology from the Trump administration.

The Trump administration celebrated Mr Khalil’s arrest, promising to deport him and others whose protests against Israel it declared were “pro-terrorist, antisemitic, anti-American activity”.

Mr Khalil said after around 36 hours in captivity he was allowed to speak to his wife, who was pregnant at the time.

“These were very scary hours, I did not know what was happening on the outside. I did not know that my wife was safe,” he said.

‘Absolutely absurd allegations’

Mr Khalil said administration officials had made “absolutely absurd allegations” by saying he as involved in antisemitic activities and supporting Hamas.

“They are weaponising antisemitism, weaponising anti-terrorism in order to stifle speech,” he said. “What I was engaged in is simply opposing a genocide, opposing war crimes, opposing Columbia University’s complicity in the war on Gaza.”

A State Department spokesperson said its actions toward Mr Khalil were fully supported by the law.

Asked about missing the birth of his son while he was in prison, Mr Khalil said: “I don’t think there’s any word that can describe the agony and the sadness that I went through, to be deprived from such a divine moment, from a moment that my wife and I had always dreamed about.”

Meanwhile, the deportation case against Mr Khalil is continuing to wind its way through the immigration court system.