An NY Times reporter who conversed with a New Orleans terror suspect in the past claims they didn't observe any "red flags."

A New York Times freelance contributor discussed a college newspaper interview he had with Shamsud-Din Jabbar years ago, stating that he did not seem like the type of person who would commit the New Year's Day terror attack in New Orleans.

On Thursday morning, Paula Newton of CNN interviewed Keenan about the discovery that the suspect responsible for the deaths of 15 people on Bourbon Street was the same man he interviewed for Georgia State University's college paper in 2015.

"Keenan told the anchor, "What little I remember from that interview was a very cool, calm, and collected guy.""

In 2015, Keenan interviewed Jabbar, who attended Georgia State from 2015 until 2017 and received a bachelor's degree in computer information systems, about his college life as a veteran.

The journalist remarked that there were no warning signs in his character.

On Wednesday at approximately 3:15 a.m., a 42-year-old man named Jabbar drove his truck through a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, celebrating the beginning of 2025. Jabbar, a U.S.-born citizen residing in Houston, Texas, was the suspect.

Jabbar, after driving through the crowd, engaged in a gunfight with law enforcement and was killed. It is reported that bomb-making materials were found in an Airbnb Jabbar had rented in New Orleans. Authorities suspect that Jabbar acted alone in carrying out the attack and was influenced by ISIS.

Jabbar, the suspect, had two marriages and two children. The FBI disclosed that Jabbar served as a Human Resource Specialist and IT Specialist in the U.S. Army from March 2007 to January 2015 and as an IT Specialist in the Army Reserves from January 2015 to July 2020.

He was deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010 while serving in the Army. The FBI believes he was honorably discharged.

Jabbar's attack was a shock to Keenan and others who knew him, as Keenan told CNN.

"My colleagues at the New York Times spoke to their family and friends, and they're saying this was a wild 180," he said.

Keenan described the Jabbar he interviewed as reserved.

"The journalist stated that he was a little distant, like veterans who have had difficult deployments, and that he is still processing it all."

Jabbar revealed to Keenan in a 2015 New York Times interview that he struggled to adapt to civilian life after his military service.

Keenan remembered Mr. Jabbar's complaint about the Department of Veterans Affairs bureaucracy's complexity, which made it challenging for veterans to obtain their tuition and other educational benefits through the G.I. Bill. Even a single missing signature or sheet of paper could significantly impact an applicant's benefits.

Jabbar's other complaint was that it was difficult to communicate without using military jargon, which can make it challenging for veterans when applying for civilian jobs.