New Orleans truck attacker posted recordings criticizing music, discussing religious beliefs in year before attack

The man who plowed a truck into a crowd of people in New Orleans on New Year's Day posted audio recordings online in early 2024 expressing his religious beliefs and describing music as the "voice of Satan." He made no mention, however, of plans for violence or affiliations with extremist groups in the recordings. 

Eleven months prior to the Bourbon Street attack, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who killed 14 people, posted three recordings on SoundCloud, including a recitation from the Quran and a separate message warning that music could draw people toward "forbidden" behaviors such as using marijuana, consuming alcohol and engaging in violence. 

Basharat Saleem, executive director of the Islamic Society of North America, a nonprofit organization, told CBS News that many of Jabbar's statements in the recordings reflect a misinterpretation of Islamic law.