The half-brother of the New Orleans attack suspect has said his actions were not “the man I knew”.
“This wasn’t the man I knew, this wasn’t the father, the son that I knew,” said Abdur-Rahim Jabbar whose half-brother Shamsud-Din Jabbar is suspected of committing the terrorist attack on the Bourbon Street area.
A pick-up truck struck people celebrating the New Year and Shamsud-Din was killed in a shootout with police. At least 14 people were killed and more than two dozen were injured.
The suspect’s younger half-brother Abdur-Rahim told a Texas-based TV station, owned by Sky News’s partner network NBC News: “It is a tragedy.”
“We’re all grieving about this,” he said.
Abdur-Rahim said he was thinking about those impacted by the attack.
“Our hearts and prayers and thoughts go out to those families, the victims of those families and those who were there to witness it,” he said.
The suspect was a Muslim, but his half-brother said: “This isn’t any representation of Islam or Muslims or the Muslim community.”
Shamsud-Din Jabbar in Fort Johnson Louisiana. Pic: Reuters
The FBI said Shamsud-Din was a 42-year-old US citizen and army veteran from Texas. Talking about himself in a work video in 2020, Shamsud-Din said he was born and raised in the state.
An Islamic State (IS) flag, weapons, and what appeared to be an improvised explosive device (IED) were found in the vehicle, the FBI said.
The suspect posted five videos on social media before the rampage in support of IS, the agency added.
Read more on this story:
How the atrocity unfolded
Did New Orleans authorities fail victims?
Carnage haunts New Orleans but ‘Big Easy’ suffered before
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What do we know about the suspect?
In his first clip, Shamsud-Din said he was planning to harm his own family and friends, but was concerned headlines would not focus on the “war between the believers and disbelievers”, said Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counter-terrorism division.
Shamsud-Din also joined IS “before this summer”, and provided a will, the FBI chief said.
He was twice divorced and had children. He worked as a human resource specialist and information technology specialist, Shamsud-Din said in one of his previous videos.