The person responsible for the massacre that occurred on New Year’s Eve in New Orleans where 15 people died was his name Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar. To carry out the massacre he dressed up in a camouflage suit, a bulletproof vest and an assault rifle and was determined to kill as many people as possible. His skill with weapons is not surprising: Jabbar, 42 years old, originally from Texas, had ten years of military service in the United States Army behind him, where he reached the rank of sergeant major. After his honorable discharge in 2015, he converted to Islam and over the past year had probably become radicalized online. This conversion and Jabbar’s military past are just some of the elements that emerged in the reconstruction of his life, which also includes two daughters, aged 15 and 20. A photo circulating among police officials – according to US media – shows Jabbar with a beard and in camouflage clothing, slumped next to the vehicle after being shot. Inside the pick-up, the authorities found weapons, explosives and even a flag ofIsis, a finding that immediately prompted the FBI to investigate possible links between Jabbar and terrorist organizations.
Jabbar’s personal and professional profile
Despite his military background, in the years following his discharge Jabbar had embarked on a new career as a real estate broker. However, his professional life was characterized by many difficulties. In a video posted to YouTube in 2020, Jabbar speaks positively about his real estate skills, claiming he has experience and the ability to succeed. However, public records show that his real estate license expired in 2021. In the video, Jabbar stated that he was born and raised in Beaumont, La. Texas, and that he served in the Army as a human resources and information technology specialist, a subject in which he graduated from the Georgia State University. Court records from his first divorce, in 2012, confirm that he was on active duty in the Army at the time and resided at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Jabbar had some minor criminal records, including a theft in 2022 and a charge for driving without a license in 2005. He had been married twice and was going through his second divorce when his life began to take an increasingly problematic turn. In January 2022, during divorce negotiations, he sent an email to his second wife’s lawyer, describing his financial difficulties. “I can’t afford the house payment,” he wrote, explaining that he owed $27,000 in arrears and risked foreclosure. Court documents show that Jabbar’s second ex-wife, Shaneed Chantil Jabbar40, obtained the temporary restraining order against her in July 2020. The order expressly prohibited Shamsud-Din Jabbar “from sending her threatening or obscene messages or causing physical harm to her or their child.”
Financial problems and personal instability
In that same email, Jabbar revealed that his real estate company had suffered a loss of more than $28,000 the previous year and that he had racked up $16,000 in credit card debt to pay lawyers and establish a second residence. He had suggested selling the house and splitting the proceeds with his wife, but in the meantime he said he worked at the firm Deloitte, with an annual income of about $120,000, according to an August 2022 court document. Financial difficulties were not the ‘only problem. Dwayne Marshthe husband of Jabbar’s ex-wife, Nakedra Charrllehe reported to New York Times that Jabbar had been behaving erratically in recent months: “He had gone mad. He cut his own hair after his conversion,” Marsh said, explaining that he and his wife had decided to no longer allow their daughters to spend time with Jabbar. The New Year’s Eve massacre and the profile of the killer have shocked American public opinion. Investigators are trying to understand what drove a decorated former soldier and family man to turn into a killer. The authorities are examining all possibilities, including possible involvement with international terrorism. Meanwhile, Jabbar’s name remains linked to a tragedy that left an indelible mark on New Orleans and the entire country.
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