New Orleans Suspect Altered His Plan

The suspect who drove into a crowd of people in New Orleans, killing 15 and injuring at least 35 others, described his plans in videos recorded as he drove to Louisiana from his home in Texas, CNN reports. Shamsud-Din Jabbar reportedly discusses dreams that inspired him to join the Islamic State as well as an initial plan to gather and kill his family in videos shared on Facebook late Tuesday. More on the decorated military veteran who allegedly transformed into a terrorist carrying an ISIS flag:

• Videos: The 42-year-old said he planned to gather and kill his family, but changed his mind after dreams that inspired him to join the Islamic State, officials say, per CNN. The videos show Jabbar driving at night. It's unclear when they were filmed, but police say it may have been just before Wednesday's attack.

• Criminal record: Born and raised in Beaumont, Texas, Jabbar was sentenced to nine months of probation after pleading guilty to a 2002 charge of petty theft, per the Wall Street Journal. Three years later, he was sentenced to six months of probation for driving with a suspended license.
• Army: He served as a human resource and information technology specialist with the Army from 2007 to 2015, and deployed to Afghanistan for 11 months in 2009, receiving the Global War on Terrorism medal. He was twice disciplined for driving under the influence, including after an incident in November 2014, per the Journal and CNN. The staff sergeant left the Army in January 2015 and served in the Army Reserve until he was honorably discharged in July 2020.
• School and work: He graduated from Georgia State University in 2017 with a bachelor's degree in computer information systems and went on to work at Deloitte and Accenture. "He was paid the equivalent of nearly $125,000 a year" at Deloitte, where he was hired as a senior consultant in 2021, per the Journal. He obtained a real estate license in 2019, but court records show a real estate company he formed was losing money as of 2022.

• Divorces: His first wife won custody of their two children following a 2012 split, while Jabbar was ordered to pay child support. Eight years later, Jabbar filed for divorce from his second wife, who was granted a restraining order against him. The couple soon after dismissed the divorce petition, but Jabbar would file for divorce again in 2021.
• Other troubles: In a 2022 divorce filing, Jabbar claimed he was tens of thousands of dollars in debt and the couple's home was "in danger of foreclosure," per the Journal. In recent months, he'd started acting "crazy" to the point that his ex-wife prevented him from seeing his daughters, ages 15 and 20, per the New York Times. Jabbar also had a 6-year-old son.
• A neighbor speaks: A former neighbor of Jabbar, who lived near him in Houston, says he "was good to his children" and eager to offer a helping hand, per the Journal. "He would ask, 'Ma'am, do you want me to help you with that?' He would help me carry my groceries," Marilyn Bradford adds, per the Times. "He was no terrorist to me."

(The FBI now thinks Jabbar acted alone.)