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Police cordon off the intersection of Canal Street and Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, on January 1, 2025. At least 10 people were killed and 30 injured Wednesday when a vehicle plowed overnight into a New year's crowd in the heart of the thriving New Orleans tourist district, authorities in the southern US city said. MATTHEW HINTON/AFP via Getty Images

The suspect in the gruesome New Orleans truck attack on New Year's Day, which killed at least 10, has ties to Texas, including being a graduate of Central Texas College (CTC).

According to the college, however, the suspect graduated in 2010 and completed all his coursework online. He is also not currently affiliated with the institution.

Authorities shared that the suspect drove a pickup truck carrying the Islamic State group flag during a New Year's celebration killed 14 people and injured others. KVUE reported that the police shot the suspect dead at the scene and investigated the case as an act of terrorism. As a result, this has led to increased security concerns, with the College football playoff match in New Orleans seeing delay as well.

Military and Educational History

Contrary to rumors of Shamsud-Din Jabbar being an immigrant, the report stated that he's a native Texan.

According to Al Jazeera, in 2001, he graduated from Central High School in Beaumont. Then, he was active in the US military from 2007 until 2020.

From February 2009 to January 2010, he was deployed to Afghanistan, but after his service in that same year he ended his deployment, he received an associate degree from Central Texas College. While still in the military field, Jabbar graduated with a degree in Computer Information Systems from Georgia State University in 2017.

His resume revealed that he started working for Deloitte at the staff level in 2021. In 2022, financial troubles and personal issues were brought into the spotlight due to his divorce; he had amassed significant debts and was at risk of losing his home through foreclosure.

In the rented Ford F-150 pickup truck he used to attack Bourbon Street, authorities found an ISIL (ISIS) flag, hence, raising suspicions about possible ties to terrorism, but it remains to be seen if Jabbar operated alone or whether he had accomplices.

Newly President-elect Donald Trump condemned Jabbar's crime and called it "an act of pure evil," while offering his condolences to the victims and their families. The incoming administration now promised to make national security its top priority and to support federal efforts to investigate and address the attack.

President Joe Biden continues to receive updates from the FBI while assuring full federal assistance to local authorities.