Suspect traveled to Egypt in 2023, half-brother says
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the suspected Bourbon Street attacker, traveled to Egypt in 2023 for about a month, his half-brother told ABC News.
Abdur Jabbar, 24, said Shamsud went to Egypt alone, telling his family he was going "because it was cheap and beautiful." His half-brother provided a photo to ABC News showing gifts Shamsud brought back from the trip, including three rings, tea and a wooden box.
Law enforcement officials tell ABC News the suspect's foreign travel is a part of the ongoing investigation.
Investigators, according to multiple sources, are digging in to determine what the attacker did during his travel in Egypt, why he went and who he interacted with while there. Critical to the probe is whether Din Jabbar had been radicalized prior to the travel or if the travel marked the start of his radicalization.
"This next most important phase of the investigation is to find out how that radicalization happened and if it happened on that trip. That' s priority No. 1," Orleans Parish DA Jason Williams told ABC News.
Officials said the first 24 hours after the ramming attack were occupied by a feverish effort to determine whether there were additional suspects on the loose or if Din Jabbar worked with accomplices.
Since Thursday, investigators have been focused on piecing together his path to radicalization and the events that led up to his decision to attack the Bourbon Street.
"The picture is getting less pixelated," one investigator explained. "But it's slow going."
