Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the man who attacked partiers in New Orleans with a truck, killing 14 people on Bourbon Street celebrating New Year's Day, left a copy of the Quran open at his home, on a page about slaying for Allah, according to the New York Post.
The FBI searched Jabbar's north Houston home on Wednesday and found his Quran 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," the Post reported.
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, according to the Post.
Numerous books about Islam were also on the shelf and around the squalid home, while a prayer rug was rolled up nearby, the Post reported.
FBI officials on Thursday said Jabbar posted five videos on Facebook on his drive from Houston to New Orleans just hours before his attack.
FBI counterterrorism official Chris Raia said on Thursday that videos made by Jabbar just before the attack showed the 42-year-old Texas native supported the Islamic State group, claimed to have joined the militant group before last summer, and believed in a "war between the believers and nonbelievers."
In one video, Jabbar said he wanted to murder his family and friends but was concerned the media wouldn't focus on the "war between the believers and disbelievers," Raia said.
While the FBI was looking into his "path to radicalization," evidence collected since the attack showed that Jabbar was "100% inspired by ISIS,” said Raia, using an acronym for the Islamic State group.
Information from Reuters was used in this report.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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