Shocking discovery at New Orleans attacker's house: Open Quran with a 'message', bomb-making gear

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said that hours before the deadly attack, Jabbar, an American citizen from Texas, posted five videos on his Facebook account

Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old US Army veteran, drove a pickup truck into a crowd of revelers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing 14 people and injuring dozens before being shot to death by police. The Isis-inspired terrorist left behind a chilling scene in his North Houston trailer home – wherein he had a workbench for assembling explosives, a Quran open to a passage glorifying violence and a number of compounds used in bomb-making, video accessed by the New York Post showed.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said that hours before the deadly attack, Jabbar, an American citizen from Texas, posted five videos on his Facebook account in which he proclaimed his support for the Islamic State group and previewed the violence that he would soon unleash in the famed French Quarter district.

The video posted by the New York Post showed a Quran atop a bookshelf opened to Verse 9:111, which reads: “They fight in Allah’s cause, and slay and are slain; a promise binding.” The verse, often cited by extremist groups to justify violence, added another layer of darkness to his already reprehensible actions.

There were several books on Islam that could be seen on the shelf in his home. A prayer rug was rolled up nearby. A back bedroom was filled with children’s toys and bunk beds.

WATCH: Tour of New Orleans Attacker Jabbars homeThe NYP reporter says she found a bomb-making station and a Quran open to a chilling passage about martyrdomSomethings off here. The attack happened literally YESTERDAYHow is this being allowed?pic.twitter.com/vCwCrpf0b8

Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) January 3, 2025

The FBI recovered a black IS flag from Jabbar's rented pickup.

Jabbar joined the Army in 2007, serving on active duty in human resources and information technology and deploying to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010, the service said. He transferred to the Army Reserve in 2015 and left in 2020 with the rank of staff sergeant.

“This was an act of terrorism. It was premeditated and an evil act,” said Christopher Raia, the deputy assistant director of the FBI's counterterrorism division, calling Jabbar “100 per cent inspired” by the Islamic State, Associated Press reported.

It was the deadliest IS-inspired assault on US soil in years, laying bare what federal officials have warned is a resurgent international terrorism threat. That threat is emerging as the FBI and other agencies brace for dramatic leadership upheaval after President-elect Donald Trump's administration takes office.