
New Orleans attack suspect discussed plans to kill his family and join ISIS in chilling recordings. Here’s what we know
CNN
The Texas man who police suspect of killing at least 10 people celebrating New Year’s in New Orleans and injuring dozens more is an Army veteran who has worked in real estate and IT and said in court documents that he struggled with financial troubles in recent years.
In a series of videos, the suspect in the deadly New Year’s attack in New Orleans discussed planning to kill his family and having dreams that helped inspire him to join ISIS, according to multiple officials briefed on the investigation. Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the 42-year-old man who police suspect drove a pickup truck into a crowd of revelers on Bourbon Street, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens more, made the chilling recordings while driving from his home in Texas to Louisiana, authorities believe. Jabbar, a US citizen and Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, made reference in the videos to his divorce and how he had at first planned to gather his family for a “celebration” with the intention of killing them, two officials who had been briefed on the recordings said. But Jabbar said in the videos that he changed his plans and joined ISIS, and referenced several dreams that he had about why he should be joining the terrorist group, according to the officials. The videos, which CNN has not reviewed, appear to have been recorded while he was driving at night, the officials said, although the exact timing is unclear. Jabbar was killed while exchanging fire with police after ramming the truck through the crowd in the early hours of New Year’s Day. He had potential improvised explosive devices and an ISIS flag in the truck he drove, according to local and federal authorities. Now, law enforcement authorities are reviewing the videos Jabbar made as they rush to piece in details about how he went from a military veteran to a suspect in a deadly rampage.

The two men killed as they floated holding onto their capsized boat in a secondary strike against a suspected drug vessel in early September did not appear to have radio or other communications devices, the top military official overseeing the strike told lawmakers on Thursday, according to two sources with direct knowledge of his congressional briefings.












