Fact Check: New Orleans terror attack suspect is Indian American? No, viral claim is false
An image of the dead terror suspect in the attack in New Orleans has gone viral with the claim that he is an Indian American who shouted ‘Jai Shri Ram’ before being gunned down.
By Sibahathulla Sakib Published on 2 Jan 2025 9:59 PM IST
Claim: The image shows an Indian American man who was shot dead after he drove a truck into a crowd in New Orleans, USA on New Year. He shouted 'Jai Shri Ram' before exploding the car.
Fact: The claim is false. The suspect has been identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old US citizen and Army veteran. ISIS paraphernalia was found on him and his family has said that he ‘converted to Islam at a young age’.
Hyderabad: On January 1, 2025, a rented Ford pickup truck was driven at a high speed into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing 15 people and injuring over 20 others. The FBI has identified the suspect as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a Texas-born US citizen and Army veteran who served in Afghanistan.
Against the backdrop of these developments, an X user shared an image (Warning: graphic visual; reader discretion advised) captioned, “An #Indian American man drove a car into a crowd in New Orleans, USA, on #NewYear. Initial reports say the man shouted ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and exploded his car, killing 10 people and injuring 35. The terrorist also exchanged gunfire with law enforcement and was killed. (sic)” (Archive)
The image shows a man lying dead with multiple gun wounds beside a pickup truck on the road.
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. There is no evidence to show that the dead suspect in the New Orleans terror attack is Indian American.
A reverse image search of the viral photo led us to a Yahoo News article titled, ‘What we know about Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the suspect in the New Orleans attack,’ published on January 2, 2025.
A blurred version of the same photo was published in the report with the caption, “PHOTO: The deceased suspect is seen in the New Orleans attack on Jan. 1, 2025. (Obtained by ABC News) (sic)” However, there is no mention of him being an Indian American or him shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ during the attack.
According to the report, the FBI has identified the suspect in the deadly New Year attack in New Orleans as ‘Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S.-born citizen and U.S. Army veteran from Texas.’
Quoting officials, the report added that the incident occurred early Wednesday when a rented Ford pickup truck was driven at high speed through a crowd on Bourbon Street. At least 15 people were killed, and more than two dozen others sustained injuries in the attack.
Using the information we gathered, we found a report by the BBC titled, ‘New Orleans attacker did not act alone, FBI believes’, dated January 1, 2025.
As per the report, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a Texas native and former US Army serviceman, previously held roles in human resources and IT during his military career before being discharged; information found in a now-deleted LinkedIn profile. Jabbar graduated from Georgia State University in 2017 with a degree in computer information systems, as per the report.
There is no mention of any familial connections with India.
Jabbar also ventured into real estate, holding a license that expired in 2021. His criminal record includes traffic offences and theft.
“The FBI says an Islamic State (IS) group flag was found inside the vehicle he was driving, while two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were found nearby,” the BBC report stated.
Investigating the terror suspect’s religious identity
We scanned through reports to find more information about Jabbar’s religious identity.
We came across a New York Times titled “‘No Terrorist to Me’: Relatives and Friends Saw Few Signs Before Attack”, dated January 1, 2025. In this article and in a CNN article (without a paywall), Jabbar is said to have made a series of videos where he ‘discussed planning to kill his family and having dreams that helped inspire him to join ISIS’.
The videos, on first impression, appeared to have been recorded while he was driving, where he allegedly declared his allegiance to ISIS, CNN said.
Further, according to a New York Post article, Jabbar’s brother Abdur Jabbar (24), said that ‘radicalization’ is to blame for his kin’s rampage. He also said that Jabbar ‘converted to Islam at an early age.’
The brother also told the newspaper that what his brother ‘did does not represent Islam. This is more some type of radicalization, not religion.’
The New York Times report also quoted the suspect’s younger brother, who said that their family had been raised Christian, but his brother had converted to Islam many years ago. “As far as I know, he was a Muslim for most of his life,” he said.
Therefore, the claim that an Indian American man shouted ‘Jai Shri Ram’ before carrying out the deadly attack in New Orleans is false. The suspect, identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, is a US-born citizen with no connection to India or Hinduism.
