(Reuters) -Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the 42-year-old Texas man accused of crashing a truck into New Year's Day revelers in New Orleans, killing 15 and injuring dozens of people, served in the U.S. Army for 13 years including a deployment to Afghanistan, the Army said.
Federal officials and local law enforcement in New Orleans said that Jabbar did not act alone and that they are looking for accomplices. The FBI said Jabbar had an Islamic State flag on his truck and view the attack as a potential act of terrorism. The Islamic State, or ISIS, is a Sunni Muslim militant group which has carried out attacks throughout the world.
While the investigation is ongoing, so far no information has surfaced to explain why Jabbar, a U.S. citizen raised in Texas, would carry out the New Orleans attack. Jabbar died at the scene in a shootout with police, officials said.
Jabbar served in the Army as a human resource specialist and information technology specialist from 2007 until 2015. He then joined the Army Reserve as an IT specialist until 2020, holding the rank of staff sergeant at the end of service, according to an Army official.
Jabbar deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010, the official said.
Before serving in the Army, Jabbar enlisted in the Navy in August 2004 under a delayed entry program but was discharged a month later, a Navy official told Reuters.
Corporate records show that Jabbar got involved in a series of businesses in recent years.
In a promotional video for a real estate business posted to YouTube in 2020, a man with the same name as the suspect said his time in the military had taught him the importance of great service and taking everything seriously.
"I've taken those skills and applied them to my career as a real estate agent, where I feel like what really sets me apart from other agents is my ability to be able to one be a fierce negotiator," he said, encouraging clients to give him a call.
In the video, the man introduced himself as a manager at Blue Meadow Properties LLC, a Texas-based company whose license expired in 2022. He was registered as a real estate sales agent for four years through February 2023, records show.
He said he was born and raised in Beaumont, Texas.
Reuters was unable to reach anyone at the number provided by Jabbar in the video. Attempts to contact Jabbar's relatives were also unsuccessful.
The FBI believes Jabbar rented the Ford (NYSE:F) pickup truck he used to ram into the crowd in New Orleans' French Quarter in the early hours of Wednesday. Jabbar then opened fire on police, injuring 35 in addition to the at least 10 people who have died.
The ISIS flag on the truck prompted an investigation into possible links to terrorist organizations. Investigators found weapons and a potential explosive device in the vehicle, as well as other potential explosive devices in the French Quarter.
"We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible. We are aggressively running down every lead, including those of his known associates," FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan told a briefing on Wednesday.
Court records show Jabbar was divorced in 2022, separating from his wife of five years. The couple had one child.
He does not appear to have a violent criminal record prior to the attack. According to Texas records, Jabbar was charged with a misdemeanor in 2002 for a property theft and arrested in 2005 for driving with an invalid license.