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The brother of Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the man behind the New Year’s Day terrorist attack in New Orleans, blamed radicalization for his sibling’s actions.
Abdur Rahim-Jabbar, 24, who along with his brother was raised Muslim, told Fox News that he did not previously spot any signs of someone who was hatching a deadly plot. He added that the attack was “no direct reflection on his brother and the Muslim community”.
The 42-year-old attacker – a U.S. citizen from Houston, Texas, and Army veteran – killed 14 people and injured 35 others after ramming a truck into a crowd of revellers on Bourbon Street before being shot dead by police on Wednesday morning.
During a news conference on Thursday, the FBI said that it was informed of several videos that Jabbar posted online proclaiming his support for ISIS. In one video, Jabbar explains he originally planned to hurt friends and family, but was concerned the media would not focus on the “war between believers and the disbelievers,” FBI agent Christopher Raia said.
It comes as President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden are expected to visit New Orleans on Monday, a White House official told CNN Friday.
The New Orleans attacker was inspired by ISIS. How much of a threat does the group pose to the US?
Despite the New Orleans attack, experts don’t see an elevated threat from ISIS — instead, it’s a steady threat that never left, Richard Hall writes:
Mike Bedigan3 January 2025 19:10
Watch: Allstate CEO Tom Wilson faces fury following bizarre Sugar Bowl ad
Mike Bedigan3 January 2025 18:50
Amazon worker injured in New Orleans attack denied time off from work to recover
An Amazon worker who was among the dozens of victims injured in the New Year’s Day attack on Bourbon Street says that the retail giant refused her request for time off so that she could recover.
Alexis Scott-Windham, 23, was shot and had her foot run over by Shamsud-Din Jabbar as she tried to get out of the way of his speeding vehicle.
According to NOLA.com, Scott-Windham needs to return to an orthopedist in two weeks to check on her foot, but the Amazon warehouse where she works denied her request for a leave of absence.
She worries she’ll have to find a new job once she’s recovered. “Other than that, I’m just thankful to be here,” Scott-Windham told the outlet. “I just want to tell my story to everybody. I don’t want to take life for granted. It’s really opened my eyes.”
Mike Bedigan3 January 2025 18:30
Turo CEO ‘outraged’ by abuse of car-rental platform
The CEO of car-rental company Turo – where both Shamsud-Din Jabbar and Matthew Livelsberger rented their vehicles – says he is “outraged” by the abuse of the platform.
In an updated statement on Friday, Andre Haddad said the company had spent “tense, mournful hours” assisting law enforcement with their investigations and “working around the clock to figure out how our platform could be misused by the perpetrators of such atrocities.”
“Thinking about the victims and their families, I’m shocked, saddened, and, more than anything else, just simply heartbroken. Their stories are crushing. Their loss is unfathomable and unfair,” he said. “Thinking about how egregiously the two individuals who perpetrated these heinous crimes abused our platform, I’m outraged.”
Mike Bedigan3 January 2025 18:10
New Orleans Council to run ‘deep dive investiagtion’ into missing Bourbon Street bollards
The New Orleans City Council is set to do a “deep-dive investigation” into why the security bollards on Bourbon Street were missing the morning of the attack.
“We have had some contradictory messages internally as far as when the work was awarded and when it should have started, and I know from my perspective as the incoming Council president, we are going to do our own deep-dive investigation over the coming weeks to go into that,” Councilman JP Morrell told CNN on Friday morning.
James Liddell3 January 2025 17:40
Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s former commanding officer speaks out about New Orleans’ attacker’s radicalization
The former commanding officer of New Orleans’ attacker Shamsud-Din Jabbar has spoken out on social media about the soldiers’ disturbing radicalization.
Jabbar, 42, from Houston, killed 14 people and injured 35 others in the early hours of Wednesday morning after he rammed a truck into a crowd of revelers on Bourbon Street before being shot dead by police.
Col. Richard Groen, his former commanding officer, explained in an X post Thursday that Jabbar had “served under [his] Troop Command during our deployment to Afghanistan.”
Madeline Sherratt has the story.
James Liddell3 January 2025 17:10
Watch live: View of New Orleans’ Bourbon Street after deadly truck attack
James Liddell3 January 2025 16:40
Allstate CEO Tom Wilson faces fury following bizarre Sugar Bowl ad in wake of attack
James Liddell3 January 2025 16:10
Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s brother says sibling was radicalized
The brother of Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the man behind the New Year’s Day terrorist attack in New Orleans, blamed radicalization for his sibling’s actions.
Abdur Rahim-Jabbar, 24, who along with his brother was raised Muslim, told Fox News that he did not previously spot any signs of radicalization or someone who was hatching a deadly plot. He added that the attack was “no direct reflection on his brother and the Muslim community”.
Rahim-Jabbar also told CNN that his brother never spoke of ISIS.
Jabbar’s father, Rahim, 65, said he regretted not having the opportunity to speak to his son.
“How do you know what to do if they don’t tell you,” he told the outlet. “We would have certainly tried, because we knew it wouldn’t have been a good ending.”
James Liddell3 January 2025 15:40
Biden will visit New Orleans next week, White House says
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden are expected to visit New Orleans on Monday – marking five days since Shamsud Din Jabbar’s New Year’s Day attack, killing 14 people and injuring 35 others after ramming a truck into a crowd of revellers on Bourbon Street.
“The President and First Lady will grieve with the families and community members impacted by the tragic attack on January 1st and meet with officials on the ground,” a White House official told CNN on Friday.
It comes after Biden told reporters on Thursday that he was “gonna try” and visit New Orleans in the wake of the terror attack.
James Liddell3 January 2025 15:10
