The sibling of the suspected New Orleans terrorist believes the attack indicates signs of extremist influence, according to a report.

The sibling of the alleged terrorist who is accused of driving a truck through a busy Bourbon Street in New Orleans recently spoke about his brother’s religious beliefs in an interview. He mentioned that the attack was a result of “radicalization.” 

In a conversation with The New York Times in Beaumont, Texas, Abdur Jabbar, 24, discussed their upbringing with Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, stating that they were brought up in a Christian household but that the accused individual, who has now passed away, had converted to Islam. 

“As far as I know, he was a Muslim for most of his life,” the brother told the Times.

“What he did does not represent Islam,” he added. “This is more some type of radicalization, not religion.”

According to reports from the Times, Shamsud-Din Jabbar had been based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and had been deployed to Afghanistan on one occasion, as per court records. 

The U.S. Army said Shamsud-Din Jabbar worked mostly as an information technology specialist and was discharged from the Army Reserve in 2020 with the rank of staff sergeant. 

Law enforcement officials execute a search warrant at the New Orleans attack suspect’s home in Houston. (KRIV)

Shamsud-Din Jabbar had been married and divorced twice. He shared two daughters, ages 15 and 20, with his first wife, Nakedra Charrlle Marsh, the Times reported. 

Her new husband, Dwayne Marsh, said Shamsud-Din Jabbar had been acting erratically in recent months, “being all crazy, cutting his hair” after converting to Islam, and that they stopped letting him around the daughters. 

Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s brother said the suspect was also the father to a 6-year-old son.