New Orleans Terror Attacker Was Barred From Seeing His Children For 'Being All Crazy' Before Attack: Family

Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, the driver who caused the New Year's Day terrorist attack in New Orleans, appeared to lead a quiet life while undergoing a "radicalization" by ISIS.

Jabbar's friends and families are trying to come to terms with how a man described as "quiet, reserved, and really, really smart" would descent into terrorism, killing 15 people and injuring dozens more by ramming a pickup truck into a crowded Bourbon Street.

Jabbar posted videos online to his family where he "pledged allegiance to ISIS," reported the New York Times.

Chris Pousson, a retired Air Force service member and former classmate of Jabbar, said he "wasn't a troublemaker" and "made good grades."

Jabbar, a former U.S. Army soldier with no history of violence, converted to Islam years ago.

Pousson shared Jabbar made posts about Islam as a religion but "never extremist stuff" on Facebook. "You could see that he had gotten really passionate," he said.

According to Dwayne Marsh, who is married to Jabbar's ex-wife, Nakedra Charrlle Marsh, his behavior became "crazy" in the last few months, leading him and his wife to bar him from seeing his two teenage daughters.

Despite having a $120,000 role at Deloitte, Jabbar showed signs of financial trouble with a $16,000 credit card debt and an email sent to a lawyer saying that he couldn't afford housing payment, reported the New York Times.

As his personal struggles mounted, Jabbar continued his public persona, helping his elderly neighbor carry groceries into her apartment and making time to talk to his brother.

"He was no terrorist to me," said Marilyn Bradford, 70, in an interview who referred to Jabbar as her "buddy."

His brother, Abdur Jabbar, said Shamsud-Din's cruel attack doesn't represent the Islamic faith.

"What he did does not represent Islam," Jabbar said. "This is more some type of radicalization, not religion."