Studies link violent crimes to training or service in US military
In the aftermath of an attack by a US military veteran who drove his truck into New Year's Eve revelers in New Orleans, Louisiana, killing 14, President Joe Biden said the crime was an act of terrorism inspired by the Islamic State terrorist group (ISIS).
That motive was evident from an ISIS flag found in Shamsud-Din Jabbar's vehicle and some social media posts he made shortly before his deadly act.
But it may not be the whole truth.
The 42-year-old American citizen from Texas may just be another in a line of military veterans to commit violent acts.
The same may hold true for Matthew Livelsberger, 37, a highly decorated US army Green Beret who served twice in Afghanistan.
On New Year's Day, he was on approved leave from Fort Bragg army base in North Carolina when he died in a Tesla Cybertruck packed with explosives that burst into flames outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. He suffered a gunshot wound to the head before the truck exploded, authorities said.
Studies show that some US military veterans are driven to violent crimes because they suffer from a mental health condition known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) engendered by service in war zones. For others, it is the military that provides the deadly spark of violence.
Jabbar, killed in an exchange of gunfire with police, served 13 years in the military, including a stint in Afghanistan. That may have contributed to his extremist views. But just having served in the military could have also played a part.
The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), an offshoot of the US Department of Homeland Security, said the major motivation for violent acts like the one in New Orleans was military service.
That ranked higher than any other cause, including PTSD.
“Recently, several studies have found that threats against state targets, including public officials, elections and law enforcement, have been on the rise in the United States,” START researchers said.
The study looked at 460 premeditated terrorist plots and attacks between 1992-2022. The findings were chilling.
“The No. 1 predictor of being classified as a mass casualty offender was having a U.S. military background,” according to researchers.
The National Library of Medicine, operated by the US federal government, conducted a study of 1,090 veterans from across the country.
“Violence towards others in the community has been identified as a significant problem for a subset of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans,” was the reason given for the study. The aim was “to investigate the extent to which post-traumatic stress disorder and other risk factors predict future violent behavior in military veterans.”
The study, conducted a decade ago, found that 9% of those involved in the study would have no problem “engaging in severe violence and 26% in other physical aggression.”
That's disturbing, considering that there were an estimated 16.2 million military veterans in the United States in 2022, according to the US Census Bureau.
But on Wednesday, Jabbar was acting alone, the FBI said.
“We are confident at this point that there's no accomplices,” Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the agency's counterterrorism division, told reporters.
Raia also said there was no connection between the New Orleans rampage and the explosion outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.
“At this point, there is no definitive link between the attack here in New Orleans and the one in Las Vegas,“ he said.
The Tesla Cybertruck that exploded in Las Vegas was packed with firework mortars and camp fuel canisters, authorities said.
The New Orleans and Las Vegas incidents are examples of military veterans committing violent acts. But they are not alone.
For example, on Nov. 5, 2009, Nidal Hasan, a US Army major and psychiatrist, killed 13 people at the Fort Hood military base in Texas.
Another mass shooting was also linked to the military.
On Oct. 25, 2023, 40-year-old Robert Card, a US Army reservist, shot and killed 18 people at a bowling alley and restaurant in Lewiston, Maine. He was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot would a few days later.
But while significant, only a fraction of US military members have committed mass murders. A CBS News analysis in 2023 showed that out of 195 mass shootings since 1966, 50 were suspects who had military training or were veterans.
“It bears saying that the vast majority of people who serve in the military go on to lead incredibly successful lives, and obviously, we're incredibly grateful for that service. And so this is not a case that joining the military turns you into a mass shooter,” James Densley, co-founder of The Violence Project, told CBS News.
The project tracks mass shootings in the US.
Still, the analysis showed that 26% of mass shooters over six decades had military training or service.
