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Beaumont, Texas — Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old former Army soldier who was known as “Sham” in high school, was identified as the perpetrator of a deadly attack on New Year’s Eve in New Orleans. Jabbar, who was described as a model soldier by his commander, spent several years working for an IT consulting firm and started a real estate company, but his life began to unravel as he faced financial troubles and his third divorce.
Despite his polite and reserved nature, Jabbar’s transformation into an ISIS sympathizer has left his friends and family stunned. His half-brother, Abdur-Rahim Jabbar, described his brother as a loving father, son, and brother who never showed signs of radicalization or a change in his beliefs.
Investigator are still trying to determine how Jabbar became radicalized, and have little insight into his transformation. “We’re digging through more of the social media, more interviews, working with some of our other partners to ascertain a little bit more about that connection,” said Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division.
Jabbar’s upbringing and early life were marked by a desire to serve others. He initially joined the Navy, but left after a month, then joined the Army, where he served as a human resource specialist and information technology specialist from 2007 to 2015. He also deployed to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010.
After his time in the military, Jabbar attended Georgia State University and majored in computer information systems. He was quoted in an article for the student newspaper about the challenges military veterans face navigating college life.
Jabbar’s life began to unravel as he faced financial troubles and his third divorce. He started a real estate company, but it lost money, and he accumulated debt. His monthly expenses totaled around $9,000, but his net income was only $7,876.70 a month.
Despite his financial struggles, Jabbar remained devoted to his family, helping his half-brother care for their father, who had a stroke in 2023. He also posted audio messages about his Islamic faith to a SoundCloud account, but there is no evidence he discussed ISIS or radical ideologies.
The neighbor who lived next to Jabbar said he never saw him at the local mosque and that Jabbar would pray at home. Jack Pousson, a high school friend, said Jabbar frequently posted about his Islamic faith on Facebook, but gave no hint of radicalization. “It was always positive — peace be with you, uplifting type of stuff,” Pousson said. “Nothing that he posted online that I saw was negative.”
