A New York Times journalist said there were no “red flags” after discovering that 10 years ago, he interviewed the US Army vet who killed 15 people in a New Orleans crowd early New Year’s Day.
The suspect, 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, slammed a rented Ford pickup truck flying an ISIS flag into a celebratory crowd early Wednesday.
The suspect killed at least 15 people and injured dozens more in what the FBI is investigating as a terrorist attack.
Jabbar — who had been living in a rundown trailer park where sheep, goats and chickens were kept in the backyard, per The Post’s exclusive reporting — was killed in a shootout with police officers.
An uncovered 10-year-old article for a college newspaper revealed that Sean Keenan, an Atlanta-based journalist and freelance contributor for the New York Times, had interviewed Jabbar while the two were attending Georgia State University in 2015.
“My head was spinning, and what little I remember about that interview was a very cool, calm and collected guy,” Keenan told CNN’s Paula Newton on Thursday. “Nothing about his character threw any red flags.”
Keenan recalled, however, that Jabbar had a “pretty reserved demeanor” and was “a little bit distant” — “in the way you sometimes see from veterans that have had difficult deployments.”
Jabbar studied at Georgia State from 2015 to 2017, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems, according to university officials.
He had served in the Army for eight years, deployed to Afghanistan and then served in the Army Reserve until 2020, military officials said on Wednesday.
The suspect spoke with Keenan in 2015 about his struggles to adjust to civilian life as a student after leaving the military.
The process for veterans to get their tuition and benefits through the GI Bill was convoluted, and the Department of Veterans Affairs did not make it easy, Jabbar told Keenan.
It was difficult to speak with others without defaulting to his military jargon, the suspect added.
Follow the latest on the terror attack on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street:
- New Orleans terror attack live updates: Suspect pictured, ISIS flag found in vehicle
- Neighbor saw pickup truck used by New Orleans terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar leaving Airbnb hours before rampage
- NY Times reporter who interviewed New Orleans terrorist 10 years ago describes ‘calm, collected’ demeanor
- Killer driver Shamsud-Din Jabbar seen in first photo after he mowed down dozens of New Year’s revelers in New Orleans
“You don’t know how to speak without using these terms, and you’re not sure what terms are used outside the military,” Jabbar said.
Chris Pousson, a retired Air Force veteran who was friends with Jabbar in middle and high school, said the suspect “made good grades,” dressed well and didn’t cause trouble.
When he reconnected with the suspect on Facebook years later, after Jabbar left the military, Pousson noticed a dramatic shift in Jabbar’s behavior.
“He was never threatening any violence, but you could see that he had gotten really passionate about his faith,” Pousson told the New York Times.
Investigators are looking into whether Jabbar acted alone in the attack after several pipe bombs were found in the truck and throughout the French Quarter, officials said.
Surveillance video appeared to show other people with the suspect as he planted the devices, they added.
“We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible,” FBI Special Agent Alethea Duncan told reporters Wednesday afternoon.
However, law enforcement sources later said the people in the video had been cleared of wrongdoing.
