The sibling of the man responsible for the deadly car assault on Bourbon Street in New Orleans insists that “radicalization” is the root cause of his brother’s violent outburst.
Abdur Jabbar, 24, from Beaumont, Texas, shared with The New York Times that his brother, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who killed at least 15 individuals in the New Year’s Day attack, had embraced Islam at a young age.
Abdur emphasized that his brother’s actions “do not represent Islam. This is more some type of radicalization, not religion.”
He went on to describe Shamsud-Din, who was shot and killed by police after driving into the crowd, as “a sweetheart really, a nice guy, a friend, really smart, caring,” according to the Times.
In footage posted to his Facebook account before the attack, Shamsud-Din Jabbar “pledged allegiance to ISIS,” law enforcement sources confirmed to the outlet.
Additionally, he admitted in one of the videos that he intended to kill his own family members.
The terrorist, who had been married twice, has two daughters, aged 15 and 20, with his ex-wife Nakedra Charrlle, the New York Times reports.
Shamsud-Din filmed those videos while driving, and authorities suspect they may have been taken during his journey from Houston to Louisiana, based on their investigation.
The FBI does not believe that the terrorist carried out the assault alone.
An Army veteran from Texas, Shamsud-Din was flying an ISIS flag on a rented Ford F-150 Lighting EV pickup when he slammed into the crowd of New Year’s Eve celebrants on Bourbon Street.
{Matzav.com}