The descent of an army vet turned corporate consultant named in the new year’s attack

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The alleged terrorist behind the New Year’s killing spree in New Orleans was a born-and-bred Texan, an Army veteran, and father of three who had climbed the corporate ladder. But Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s burnished professional résumé belied a path that had gone off course.

In recent years, the Houston-area resident’s life appeared to take a grim turn, with a contentious divorce and his finances in a deep hole, according to a desperate email he sent to his then-wife’s lawyer in 2022. “Time is of the essence. I can not afford the house payment.

It is past due in excess of $27,000 and in danger of foreclosure if we delay settling the divorce," he wrote, worried about the tens of thousands in credit-card and other debt he had racked up as his real-estate business was losing money. Law-enforcement officials have identified Jabbar, 42, as the man who rammed a rented Ford F-150 truck into partying crowds in the heart of the French Quarter early Wednesday, leaving at least 15 dead, dozens injured and a reawakened national fear of terrorism on American soil. Jabbar died in a shootout with police, according to authorities, who said a black-and-white flag of the radical group Islamic State was found on the pickup.

Explosive devices were found in the truck and neighborhood. On his internal profile page at Deloitte & Touche, where he worked from 2021 to at least the past fall as a “senior solutions specialist," Jabbar posted about his interests including hunting and prayer. He quoted an English translation of the Quran, from a section known as Al-Insan, or “The Man," which discusses how faithful Muslims will be rewarded by God.