The brother of the suspect in a deadly New Year's Day attack in New Orleans, emphasized that Shamsud-Din Jabbar's actions were a result of radicalization and not a reflection of Islam.
"What he did does not represent Islam. This is more some type of radicalization, not religion," Abdur Jabbar, 24, told the New York Times in Beaumont, Texas, where the brothers grew up.
He said his last conversation with his brother occurred two weeks before the attack. During their discussion, there was no indication of any plans or intentions to travel to New Orleans.
"We were raised Christian, but he converted to Islam a long time ago," said Abdur. "As far as I know, he was a Muslim for most of his life."
Jabbar, who had a 6-year-old son and older daughters, joined the military in search of direction and discipline, according to his brother. "It was a new outlet to get some sort of discipline," said Abdur.
Jabbar, 42, a former US Army staff sergeant, drove a truck through crowds in the French Quarter of New Orleans tourist district Wednesday, killing 15 and injuring 35 others, according to the FBI.
He was killed in an exchange of gunfire with police officers, the FBI added.
Jabbar served in the army as a human resource and information technology specialist from 2007 to 2015, with a deployment to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010, as per media reports. He later served in the Army Reserves until 2020 and "had an honorable discharge," according to reports.
Jabbar earned a computer information systems degree from Georgia State University and worked as a real estate agent in Texas, along with having his licenses for hunting and fishing.
