The drivers involved in the attack on the New Year’s celebration in New Orleans and the truck explosion in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day both served in the Army — and some of their time was at Fort Liberty, according to news accounts.
Public records in North Carolina confirm some of the reported information.
Here are the details:
Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar — at least 14 dead in New Orleans
Shortly after 3 a.m. Wednesday in New Orleans, a pickup truck driver killed at least 14 people and injured dozens more, the New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper reported, when he drove into a crowd of New Year’s Eve celebrants in the city’s French Quarter. (The newspaper at times reported at least 15 deaths.)
The FBI confirmed the truck was flying an ISIS flag, and President Biden said on Wednesday that the attack was inspired by the Islamic State terrorist organization. The FBI says the driver was Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, 42, a native of Texas. Published reports say he was an Army veteran who spent some of his service at Fort Liberty, previously named Fort Bragg, and lived in Cumberland County.
“Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar was in the regular Army as a Human Resource Specialist (42A) and Information Technology (IT) Specialist (25B) from March 2007 until January 2015 and then in the Army Reserve as an IT Specialist (25B) from January 2015 until July 2020,” the Army said in a statement issued to the news media. “He deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010. He held the rank of Staff Sergeant at the end of service.”
North Carolina voter records say Jabbar registered to vote in Cumberland County on Oct. 12, 2012, as an unaffiliated voter. The only time he voted here was on Nov. 6, 2012, which was Election Day that year. He was later removed from the voter rolls.
Cumberland County court documents say Jabbar and his wife divorced here on Oct. 1, 2012.
The News & Observer newspaper in Raleigh reported that Jabbar was in the 82nd Airborne Division and was convicted of driving drunk on post.
Matt Livelsberger — Cybertruck explosion at Trump hotel
Matt Livelsberger of Colorado Springs, Colorado, was a master sergeant in the Army when his rented Tesla Cybertruck exploded Wednesday morning in front of the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas. As of Thursday, authorities said they were confident that Livelsberger was in the truck at the time, but the body was severely burned and they were still working to confirm the identity.
Master sergeant is one of the highest ranks an enlisted soldier can reach. The Las Vegas sheriff said it appears that the driver shot himself in the head before the truck exploded, The Las Vegas Review-Journal said.
“Master Sgt. Matthew Alan Livelsberger enlisted as an 18X and served in the active duty Army from January 2006 to March 2011,” the Army said in a statement to the news media. (The term “18X” means Special Forces.) “Livelsberger then joined the National Guard from March 2011 to July 2012, followed by the Army Reserve from July 2012 to December 2012. He entered the active duty Army in December 2012 and was a U.S. Army Special Operations Soldier.
“Additionally, U.S. Army Special Operations Command can confirm Livelsberger was assigned to the command and on approved leave at the time of his death,” the statement says. “USASOC is in full cooperation with federal and state law enforcement agencies, but as a matter of policy, will not comment on ongoing investigations.”
The Associated Press reported he spent some of his military career at Fort Liberty.
The AP, citing the Army, said Livelsberger deployed twice in Afghanistan and also had service in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia and Congo.
Statistically, it’s not unusual for soldiers with more than a couple of years of service to spend some of their careers at Fort Liberty, as the Army moves many of its people to new posts every few years, and Fort Liberty is the Army’s largest base, in terms of population.
The Army says Fort Liberty has nearly 47,000 uniformed personnel. That is more than 10% of the Army’s total number of soldiers.
Fine factual reporting to journalism standards !