New Orleans attack suspect linked to North Carolina, records show time at Fort Liberty

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - Voting records, business records and social media posts show the driver suspected of a deadly terrorist attack on New Year’s Day in New Orleans once lived in North Carolina.

WRAL News reports after cross-comparing records to determine whether Shamsud-Din Jabbar spent time at Fort Liberty, formally known as Fort Bragg. The 42-year-old is a U.S. citizen from Texas.

Three U.S. Defense officials confirm Jabbar served in the Army on active duty from 2007 to 2015. They said he was deployed to Afghanistan in 2009. He joined the Army Reserves from 2015 to 2020.

Jabbar was honorably discharged in 2020. His time in the military matches the timeline of the 82nd Airborne’s Facebook page.

WRAL News has reached out to Fort Liberty officials to ask about Jabbar.

A 2013 picture from the 82nd Airborne’s Facebook page shows a soldier identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, working as an information technology specialist.

In a business introduction video from four years ago, Jabbar shared his military background.

He explained that he spent ten years in the military as a human resources and IT specialist.

Voting records indicate Jabbar previously lived in Fayetteville, while divorce filings in Texas listed his employer as Fort Bragg, now known as Fort Liberty.

Jabbar tried to enlist in the Navy in 2004, according to a Navy spokesperson. However, the spokesperson said Jabbar never shipped or began training.

Jabbar is accused of intentionally plowing a pickup truck into New Year’s revelers at about 3:15 a.m. Central Time on Bourbon Street, authorities said. The suspect is dead, the FBI said.

At least 10 people were killed and at least 35 more were injured, according to New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick.