New Orleans terrorist had a bomb making station and his Quran was open to a chilling passage

The ISIS-inspired zealot who mercilessly killed 14 people in New Orleans converted his home into a sinister terror den as he meticulously prepared for his rampage.

ISIS-inspired New Orleans terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar kept a bomb-making workbench in his ramshackle Texas trailer home — where a Quran was left open on a page about “slaying” in the name of Allah.

The New York Post reports Jabbar’s Houston home was filled with chemical residue and chemical bottles, while an inventory of items seized by the FBI — left behind by investigators who raided his house on Wednesday — included a long list of compounds used in bomb-making.

Law enforcement officers approach Jabbar’s house in Houston, Texas. Picture: AP

His Quran was propped atop a bookshelf, a centerpiece in his living room, and open to a passage reading, “they fight in Allah’s cause, and slay and are slain; a promise binding…”

That passage, Verse 9:111, expounds on Muslims’ responsibility to kill Allah’s enemies, and to be willing to die for that mission in return for eternity in paradise.Numerous books about Islam were also on the shelf and around the squalid home, while a prayer rug was rolled up nearby.

The Texas man who unleashed terror in New Orleans was a twice-divorced, cash-strapped military veteran who reportedly converted to Islam and was recently “being all crazy”.

Prior to unleashing hell on New Year’s Day, Jabbar, 42, left behind his squalid trailer park on the outskirts of Houston, where geese, chickens and sheep roamed freely in his backyard.

He tied an Islamic State flag to the back of a rental vehicle in New Orleans and ploughed through revellers celebrating the New Year on the city’s famed Bourbon St.

As the FBI raced to investigate his “potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organisations”, the new husband of his second wife told The New York Times that Jabbar had converted to Islam and was “being all crazy” in recent months.

Dwayne Marsh reportedly said he and Jabbar’s ex-wife Nakedra Charrlle had then chosen to stop allowing Jabbar to spend time with his two daughters, who he said were “a mess” after he was killed in a firefight with police.

CNN reported Jabbar made a series of video recordings while driving to Louisiana to launch his attack, in which he said he had planned to kill his family at a “celebration” but then changed his plans and had several dreams about why he should join Islamic State.

Revellers jump out of the way of the truck driven by Shamsud-Din Jabbar in New Orleans

The suspect behind the January 1 New Orleans terror attack has been identified as Shamsud Din Jabbar

Law enforcement conduct an investigation in connection with the New Orleans terrorist attack near the intersection of Hugh Road and Crescent Peak Drive in Houston, Texas. Picture: AFP

Jabbar’s brother Abdur, 24, reportedly said he had converted to Islam at a young age.

“What he did does not represent Islam. This is more some type of radicalisation, not religion,” he said.

The US citizen – who was dressed in military gear for the attack – grew up in Texas and had spent a decade in the Army.

New Orleans terror attack suspect Shamsud-Din Jabbar. Picture: 82nd Airborne Division

Jabbar later worked for accounting firm Deloitte as well as a real estate business, for which he appeared in a YouTube video and described how his time in the military taught him “the meaning of great service”.

Emergency services attend the scene on Bourbon Street after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. Picture: AP

Superintendent of Police for the New Orleans Police Department Anne Kirkpatrick makes a statement after the attack. Picture: AP

But two failed marriages reportedly left him in financial ruin, according to The New York Post.

His first wife sued him for child support payments in 2012, according to court records, and then he said he had racked up more than $US16,000 in credit card debt paying court fees and expenses for a new home during his second divorce in 2022.

Shamsud Din Jabbar in a video on YouTube. Picture: Supplied

“I cannot afford the house payment,” Jabbar wrote.

He also claimed his real estate business had lost more than $US28,000 in a year.

Law enforcement conduct an investigation in connection with the New Orleans terrorist attack near the intersection of Hugh Road and Crescent Peak Drive in Houston, Texas. Picture: AFP

Law enforcement officers approach a location in Houston, Texas. Picture: AP

The property was several blocks away from the local mosque, although a neighbour told the Times that Jabbar did not worship there.

A robot is deployed into a location in Houston, Texas, where police personnel investigate the place suspected to be associated with an attacker in a deadly rampage in New Orleans. Picture: AP

His only previous run-ins with the law appeared to be years ago, when he was charged with two minor crimes in his home state. In 2002, Jabbar was arrested for theft in Katy, and then in 2005, he was arrested in Beaumont for driving without a valid licence.

New Orleans police chief Anne Kirkpatrick said he was “hell bent on creating the carnage and damage that he did” when he drove down Bourbon St and then opened fire on police.

“This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could,” she said.

Local news outlets reported Jabbar was staying at a nearby Airbnb before the attack, and that emergency services were called to put out a fire at the rental property.

Originally published as New Orleans terrorist had a bomb making station and his Quran was open to a chilling passage