What is the ethnicity of Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, the man behind the New Orleans attack?

As the nation reels from one of the deadliest terrorist attacks on American soil since 9/11, investigators and the public seek to understand more about Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, the man behind the devastating New Year’s Day massacre in New Orleans.

The horrific events unfolded in the early hours of January 1, 2025, when Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, intentionally rammed a rented Ford F-150 Lightning pickup truck into New Year’s celebrators on Bourbon Street around 3:15 a.m. The attack, which killed 15 people and injured 30 others, didn’t end with the vehicle assault. According to federal investigators, Jabbar emerged from the truck wielding an assault rifle and engaged in a shootout with police officers, during which he was killed and two officers were wounded.

The FBI quickly classified the incident as an act of terrorism after discovering an ISIS flag affixed to the vehicle’s hitch and recovering several social media videos where Jabbar proclaimed his support for the terrorist organization. FBI Assistant Special Agent Alethea Duncan revealed that weapons and potential improvised explosive devices were found both in Jabbar’s car and throughout the French Quarter. President Biden addressed the nation about the attack, confirming that Jabbar had posted videos “indicating he was inspired by ISIS, expressing a desire to kill.”

Before the attack, Jabbar seemed to lead a relatively ordinary American life. He worked as a staff-level employee at Deloitte since 2021, held a real estate license until 2023, and served honorably in the U.S. military for nearly 15 years. His path to radicalization has left both investigators and those who knew him searching for answers.

Unraveling Jabbar’s identity and background

Despite intense media coverage and ongoing investigations, Jabbar’s ethnic background remains unclear in official reports. What we do know is that he was a U.S.-born citizen from Beaumont, Texas—despite President-elect Donald Trump trying to pin the blame on immigrants. His half-brother, Abdur Jabbar, identified Shamsud-Din as the eldest of four brothers but provided no information about their family’s heritage during an interview with ABC.

While Jabbar’s name suggests Arabic connections, and his later social media posts focused on his Muslim faith, his childhood friends recall a very different person. Chris Pousson, who first met Jabbar in 1996 at Beaumont Middle School, described him as “very quiet, very reserved, smart, articulate.” When they reconnected on Facebook years later, Pousson noticed Jabbar’s posts about his Muslim faith were “always positive — peace be with you, uplifting type of stuff.”

Jabbar’s military service paints a picture of someone deeply integrated into American society. He served on active duty in the Army from 2006 to 2015, including a deployment to Afghanistan in 2009 as an administrative clerk. He then served in the Army Reserve until 2020. Furthermore, he attended Georgia State University from 2015 to 2017, graduating with a BBA in computer information systems.

Jabbar’s half-brother expressed complete shock at the attack, saying the tragic event “is completely outside his character.” Abdur Jabbar suggested that isolation or untreated mental health issues might have contributed to his brother’s radicalization, saying, “Maybe he was dealing with some mental health issues that I didn’t know about that he didn’t, you know, alert the family to.”

While court records reveal personal struggles, including two divorces and a temporary restraining order in 2020, nothing in Jabbar’s background suggested a capacity for mass violence. As federal investigators continue their work, they focus on understanding the factors that led to his radicalization rather than his ethnic identity, which remains unspecified in available sources and official reports.