The terrorist responsible for the New Orleans attack, which resulted in 15 fatalities and numerous injuries, was discovered to have been living in a dilapidated trailer park where he kept farm animals such as sheep, chickens, and goats after leaving the army.

Identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old US citizen from Texas, he drove an electric vehicle from Houston to Louisiana to execute the tragic incident that claimed 15 lives and wounded at least 35 individuals.

Once an IT specialist with a successful military career, Jabbar’s life took a downward spiral, leading to two divorces and his eventual residence in a rundown trailer park in Houston. Reports from the New York Post revealed his unusual living situation surrounded by farm animals.

He has also been divorced twice, with each separation leaving him in apparent financial ruin. 

According to court records, his first wife sued him for child support payments in 2012. 

And in 2022, amid his second divorce, he said in an email to his ex-wife’s lawyer that he had he accumulated over $16,000 in credit card debt paying for court fees and the expenses for a second home. 

‘I cannot afford the house payment,’ he wrote, adding that his real estate business suffered more than $28,000 in losses the previous year.

His first wife, Nakedra Jabbar, has since remarried, and she and her new husband were cooperating with investigators, her husband’s father, Nelson Marsh Sr., told the New York Post.

Jabbar, once an IT specialist with an established career in the military, quickly fell from grace and became a two-time divorcee who lived in a squalid trailer park in Houston, Texas, where he kept farm animals (pictured) 

A drone view shows the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Harris County law enforcement officials as they surround a residence in an armored vehicle in north Houston, Texas, U.S., January 1, 2025

The terrorist lived in Houston, Texas

Shamsud Din Jabbar, 42, a U.S citizen, drove a rental truck brandishing an ISIS flag into the crowd on Bourbon Street Wednesday morning, killing at least 15 people

Other legal woes came in the form of arrests – once in Texas for theft in 2002, and once in 2005 for driving without a license.  

He served in active duty from Mark 2007 until January 2015, before becoming a reservist until July 2020, according to military records reviewed by the New York Post.

The terrorist was deployed to Afghanistan between February 2009 and January 2010, leaving the service as a staff sergeant.  

The year he left the army, he posted a video on YouTube to promote his real-estate business. 

In it, a clean-shaven Jabbar described himself as a reliable, trustworthy native Texan who spent a decade in the military, which taught him ‘the meaning of great service.’

Jabbar traveled to Egypt for 10 days last year, officials told the Post. 

His neighbours told the New York Post that they knew little about him.

One man, Francois Venegas said Jabbar was a ‘simple person’ who kept to himself, though they would occasionally exchange words on the street.  

In a social media post, the FBI stated the activity in North Houston is ‘related to this morning’s New Orleans attack’ and asked residents to avoid the area

Officials confirmed Jabbar had attached an ISIS flag to the truck he used to plow through the crowd

‘[He was] pretty quiet…Just walking, [he would say] ‘hello,’ ‘hola,’ and that was it,’ Venegas said.

Jabbar’s truck turned on to Bourbon Street, maneuvered past a NOLA police department vehicle, then rammed into a crowd of pedestrians.

After mowing down the revelers, he got out of the car and started shooting, before he was shot himself by police. The ordeal is being probed as a terror attack. 

The EV truck is a particularly deadly weapon with its large height and weight and the ability to go from zero to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds.

New Orleans police said the mechanical barricades installed at the intersection were malfunctioning, and they placed other barriers and police cars at parts of Bourbon Street for the holiday. 

‘We knew these were malfunctioning. So we did indeed have a plan, but the terrorist defeated it,’ Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said.

‘This particular terrorist drove around onto the sidewalk and got around the hard target. We did have a car there, we had barriers there, we had officers there, and they still got around.’ 

Officials confirmed Jabbar had attached an ISIS flag to the truck he used to plow through the crowd. 

‘An ISIS flag was located in the vehicle and the FBI is working to determine the subject’s potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations,’ the FBI said.