CINCINNATI — Just days after 14 people were killed and dozens more were injured in a deadly attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, we're learning more about the man behind what officials are calling an act of terrorism.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, is the man who barreled through the crowd over a three-block stretch before he allegedly got out of the truck with an assault rifle and opened fire on police officers. Officers returned fire, killing him, according to officials.
The FBI said weapons, an ISIS flag and a potential improvised explosive device were located inside the vehicle. Authorities added that other potential IEDs were also located in the French Quarter.
We asked local psychologist Dr. Stuart Bassman what would lead someone to do something of this magnitude.
“There seems to be four key elements associated when someone commits an atrocity such as this one,” said Dr. Bassman.
Bassman said those elements are despair, emptiness, alienation and dysregulation: “When you put the D, E, A, D together somebody winds up dead.”
But are those four elements often equal, or if one takes over more than the other three in a person's life?
“The critical element is the dysregulation, that’s what we look for — the person gives up their ability to connect with others,” said Dr. Bassman.
He added that with dysregulation, someone loses their compassion for others, and their care for consequences too. He believes that, as well as a need for control, played a crucial part in Wednesday’s attack.
“They identify with the illusion of power, and what’s most telling is that this illusion of power gives them a sense of relief from whatever is disturbing them,” Bassman said.
President Joe Biden said Wednesday night the FBI informed him Jabbar, a U.S. citizen and Army veteran from Texas, posted on social media before the attack saying he was inspired by ISIS and had a desire to kill.
There are ways to help those who may be struggling with some or all elements Bassman described. But he said human connection is key.
“The key variable is connective-ness, connecting with people that care,” Bassman said.
The FBI has set up a digital tip line for any information related to the attack.
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