Bomb-making materials, an open Koran and children’s toys: Inside the home of New Orleans terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar

Shamsud-Din Jabbar left behind a shocking scene in his North Houston trailer home — bomb-making materials, an open Koran and signs of a life spiraling into chaos. (Photos: New York Post)

Shamsud-Din Jabbara 42-year-old New Orleans terrorist who pledged allegiance to ISIS left a chilling scene in his North Houston trailer home — complete with bomb-making materialsa Koran open to a passage that glorifies violence and signs of a life in chaos.
On New Year’s Day, Jabbar drove a rented Ford F-150 Lightning into the heart of the Bourbon Streetrocks revlers down at 3 a.m. in a horrifying frenzy. Fourteen people were killed, dozens injured, and Jabbar himself died in a shootout with the police. Federal investigators have ruled it an act of terrorism.
A Koran open to violence
The video posted by the New York Post showed a workbench in Jabbar’s bedroom set up to assemble explosives. Nearby, his Koran stood prominently atop a bookshelf, opened to Verse 9:111, which reads: “They fight in the cause of Allah and kill and are killed; a vow that binds…” The verse that in wit extent interpreted as a call to violence by extremist ideologies, cast a haunting shadow over his already sinister actions.
This passage, investigators believe, fueled Jabbar’s radicalization. It was the same ideology he espoused in chilling videos posted online minutes before his attack in which he declared his allegiance to Isis and issued threats, including to his own family.

A chaotic scene at home
The aftermath of the FBI raid on Jabbar’s trailer painted a picture of a man living on the edge. The home was in disarray, with the front door kicked down, cupboards thrown open and furniture overturned.
His master bedroom held a keffiyeh in the closet and bomb-making tools on the workbench — ominous signs of his dark journey. Despite the mess, the home seemed eerie, as if he had just left, with clothes and belongings strewn about.
A house of red flags
Jabbar’s trailer home painted a bleak portrait of his descent extremism. Chemical residue and bottles littered the property, with an inventory left by FBI agents listing compounds commonly used in bomb-making. A rolled up prayer rug and numerous Islamic books further suggested his radicalization.
Yet the home also bore traces of his fragmented personal life. A back bedroom was filled with children’s toys and bunk beds – remnants of his role as a father to two daughters aged 15 and 20. The master bedroom kept a keffiyeh hanging in the closet, signaling his ideological shift.
Hours before his attack, Jabbar told his neighbors he was traveling to New Orleans for a new IT job. The lie was soon exposed when the same white truck he drove off in became his weapon of mass destruction.
The downfall of a veteran
Once an Army staff sergeant, Jabbar served ten years, including deployments to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2019. But after leaving active duty in 2015 and the reserves in 2020, his life unraveled. Financial problems from two divorces, a failed real estate career and struggles as an IT specialist marked his civilian years.
Despite his quiet demeanor, Jabbar’s radicalization had alarming roots. In videos posted before his attack, he not only declared loyalty to ISIS but also threatened to murder his own family. His younger brother, Abdur Jabbar, expressed shock: “This is more a form of radicalization, not religion. He was really a sweetheart, a nice guy, a friend, really smart, caring.”
An eerie legacy
Jabbar’s rampage left a city in mourning and a nation questioning the hidden threats lurking within. From his squalid home filled with explosives to his tragic spiral into extremism, his story underscores the dangerous allure of radical ideologies and the human cost they leave in their wake.