One 9/11 respondent claimed that failed US foreign and domestic policies had left Americans vulnerable to domestic terrorist attacks such as the New Orleans massacre.
A New Year's Day celebration on world-famous Bourbon Street descended into chaos after ISIS-inspired Chamseddine Jabbar plowed into dozens of revelers with a pickup truck, killing 14 people and injuring more than 35 others.
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The FBI said Jabbar, who was born in Texas and served a decade in the U.S. Army, rented a Ford F-150 Lightning in Houston before driving it more than 340 miles to New Orleans, where he committed the terrorist act at approximately 3:15 p.m. On the morning of October 11th. January 1.
Jabbar, armed with an assault rifle and a remote detonator to detonate explosives, was killed in the Bourbon Street area in a shootout with New Orleans police.
FBI officials said Jabbar's attack was inspired by ISIS after he pledged allegiance to the terrorist organization over the summer.
Federal investigators are still working to determine the motive behind Jabbar's actions and what may have radicalized the Army veteran, who was honorably discharged in 2020.
The FBI said that hours before the attack, Jabbar, 42, posted five videos on social media in which he declared his support for ISIS while traveling from Houston to New Orleans on the evening of December 31.
Cause for concern
The attack sent shockwaves across the United States as thousands of football fans flocked to New Orleans on New Year's Week for the annual college football Sugar Bowl.
The championship match, which was supposed to be played on January 1, was postponed until Thursday afternoon following the tragic accident.
The terrorist attack has raised concerns about the upcoming NFL Super Bowl, which is scheduled to be held at the Superdome in New Orleans on February 9.
Brian Stern, a 9/11 first responder, said law enforcement officials of all ranks should be concerned about the big game in February.
“If I were in charge of Homeland Security, or the FBI, or law enforcement, I would be nervous,” Stern told the US Sun.
“As with technology today, killing lots and lots of people has never been easier. That's the nature of progress. You kill more people with cars than with horses and buggies.
“The rapid progress, our incredible connective tissue, and the ability to influence people positively or negatively with truth or lies.
“If you lump it all together, the target population buries their heads in the sand and doesn't worry — and that's a real problem.”
Stern continued, “If you were at the Super Bowl and a whole bunch of computer geek military vets were wearing a 'Life Matters' T-shirt, do you think a police officer would subject them to scrutiny?”
Who is Shams al-Din Jabbar?
The man who police suspect drove his car into a crowd of New Year's Eve revelers in New Orleans is 42-year-old Shamsud Din Jabbar.
He is believed to have killed 14 people in what authorities are investigating as a terrorist attack before he was shot dead by police.
More details are emerging about the US Army veteran who was born and raised in Texas.
Jabbar had a criminal history after his arrest in Katy, Texas, in 2002 on charges of robbery.
He was also arrested in 2005 for driving without an invalid license.
Documents seen by The US Sun confirmed that Jabbar held a real estate license from 2019 until it expired in February 2021.
In a YouTube video uploaded on May 12, 2020, Jabbar introduced himself as a team leader for Midas Group and a property manager at Blue Meadow Real Estate.
He shared that he was born and raised in Beaumont, Texas, but was living in Houston at the time the video surfaced.
Jabbar said that during his 10-year service in the Army, he worked as a human resources specialist and information technology specialist from 2007 to 2015.
He was deployed to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010.
Between 2015 and 2020, he served in the Army Reserve as an information technology specialist, the Army said.
Jabbar is a father of two daughters and has two previous wives.
It is unclear when his second divorce occurred, but court files show that a restraining order was granted against him in 2020.
The New York Times reported that a court document filed by the suspect in August 2022 as part of divorce proceedings said he was working for the accounting firm Deloitte and earning about $120,000 a year.
The FBI said officers found an ISIS flag in the truck after the attack after it had been attached to a pole on the truck's trailer hitch.
Jabbar had converted to Islam just last year, and was “absolutely crazy,” the new husband told his ex-wife, the New York Times reported.
“No, he's afraid. The Bourbon Street attacker, by all accounts, was not a crazy person. Therefore, your defensive posture should be to defend against everything.
“The problem is that everyone is not paying attention, and that low technology and people are inspired – and that is a recipe for very dangerous things. This is very scary.”
“If I was a bad guy, I probably wouldn't make it to the Super Bowl because I want to succeed.
“If they get caught, it's really bad. I can see a couple of enterprising punks performing a 'Hail Mary.'
“But one of the biggest barriers is Super Bowl tickets. Going to the Super Bowl is expensive and things are hard to get.
“[It’s] It's always hard to be in [law enforcement]But in today's day and age, if you say the wrong thing – you could go to jail. They have an incredibly difficult task ahead of them. “Very difficult.”
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“They are afraid to move”
Stern emphasized the confluence of pressing political issues in the United States that has created an uncomfortable climate among police officers across the country.
He added: “Right now, as you know, we have a clearly failed foreign policy.”
“I don't think this is disputed by anyone. This is not a political statement, but, you know, ISIS is on the rise.
“They communicate more, they do more.
“So, at the same time here locally, American law enforcement in most jurisdictions, you know, a lot of people don't want to talk about it, but I have a lot of friends who are police officers, and they'll all tell you, they'll all say the same thing.
“They are afraid to act on racial issues, because [Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion] Stuff, because if someone recorded them yelling at someone on their iPhone, they would get in trouble.
“If they arrest people, nothing will happen. So, 'I'm going through the motions,' and a lot of those kind of feelings.”
“Right or wrong, this is the tone of American law enforcement.”
I think there is a tendency to assume that terrorism is something foreign.
Brian Stern
“I have a lot of friends and family in the New York City Police Department, and they are scared to death, scared to death to act, on a number of occasions,” Stern continued.
“So, there's this part of it that from a physical security perspective, from a bad guy inspiration perspective, failed foreign policy leads to problems.”
Stern raised the alarm about how easily foreign terrorist groups can radicalize Americans through smartphone use.
“There's a big misnomer that to be a bad guy, you can't be an American,” he added.
“Well, Lee Harvey Oswald, Timothy McVeigh, you know, America is in a world today, where you can be radicalized with an iPhone.
“I think there is a tendency to assume that terrorism is something foreign.
“My point is in today's world, with the connectivity that we have because of iPhones and the Internet and Facebook and Instagram, all the different things, the process of radicalization for a terrorist.
“Bad foreign policy leads to domestic problems. We have seen this in history over time for years. This is not new.
“Our foreign policy at this time is very bad. Our status as a great power, our status as a good country, as a strong country, as a country of values, as a country of morals, all those things that make people love you or hate you. You, all those things are at least in question.”
