The New Orleans Bourbon Street attack shocked the nation when a rented Ford truck driven by a 42-year-old Houston resident Shamsud-Din Jabbar was used to kill 14 people and injure 35 more.
As Turo grows in popularity, these tragedies have raised critical questions about the platform’s safety protocols and what steps it might take to prevent future incidents.
Turo allows vehicle owners to rent their cars to individuals, often at prices more competitive than traditional rental companies.
“Every Turo renter is screened through a proprietary multi-layer, data-science-based trust, and safety algorithm, the Turo Risk Score. We employ over 50 internal and external data sources to build, maintain, and improve on that Risk Score,” said CEO Andre Haddad in a statement. “This massive data set helps us drive actionable insights, and we continuously refine and enhance our algorithm. In addition to that investment in technologies, we’ve also assembled an experienced team of former law enforcement professionals in our Trust and Safety organization.”
The challenges of being a Turo host
Houston resident Geraldine Massamba, a former Turo host, shared her concerns and experiences with the platform.
“Whenever I put my car on Turo, it was always a risk. I knew someone whose car was stolen and taken out of state, and when it was finally found, it was damaged. If you don’t have the highest insurance coverage, you’re left paying out of pocket,” Massamba explained.
She said the platform’s income-percentage model, where higher coverage levels mean more rental earnings go to Turo.
“And even then, when incidents occur, reimbursement is often subject to review and depends on the damage and your personal insurance,” she added.
Massamba said that while Turo provides extensive orientation for car owners to ensure their vehicles meet standards, she questioned the vetting process for renters. “On the business side, they’re thorough with inspections and ensuring your car is in good condition. But on the consumer side, I’m not sure how well they vet renters beyond the basics like a driver’s license. It’s hard to determine someone’s intentions just from a few clicks on an app.”
For peace of mind, Massamba installed a GPS tracker in her car. “That tracker reassured me, but it’s still not perfect. You can see where your car is, but you don’t know what’s happening at that location. It’s unsettling.”
She also restricted the range of the car she could drive. “I didn’t want my car leaving Houston, so I set strict mileage limits. Even then, you can’t control what someone does within those limits.”
Users choose vehicles via the app, agree on rental terms, and pick up the car directly from the owner or a designated location. With 350,000 active vehicle listings in more than 16,000 cities globally, the platform has become a go-to option for affordable and unique car rentals.
Company filings reveal that more than 3.5 million people rented vehicles through Turo between November 2023 and November 2024. However, these recent high-profile incidents have drawn attention to the app’s potential vulnerabilities.
The FBI is investigating the incident as an act of terrorism. Jabbar reportedly flew an ISIS flag on the vehicle and was armed with additional weapons and potential explosives. Authorities confirmed that Jabbar acted alone, intensifying concerns over how rental platforms like Turo vet their users.
According to the company’s website, Turo requires a valid driver’s license, home address, and payment card for vehicle rentals. It may also check a potential renter’s credit report and criminal background.
Turo vehicles have been linked to criminal activity, with a Houston woman allegedly carrying out a series of robberies using seven cars rented through Turo in 2021.
Despite its strong track record, the company is consulting with national security and counterterrorism experts to enhance its security measures and prevent future incidents while waiting for law enforcement investigations.
Before the attack, Jabbar, a former military service member, shared details of his professional journey in a video posted to YouTube. In the clip, he reflected on the values he learned during his time in the U.S. Army, emphasizing the importance of precision and dedication. “I learned the meaning of great service and what it means to be responsive, taking everything seriously, dotting I’s and crossing T’s to make sure things go off without a hitch,” he said.
Jabbar applied those principles to his career in real estate, promoting himself as a skilled negotiator in a brief online video for Blue Meadow Properties, a company he operated until it became inactive in 2023. Before venturing into real estate, Jabbar served in the U.S. Army as a human resources specialist and IT specialist from 2007 to 2015, including a deployment to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010. He later continued in the Army Reserve as an IT specialist until 2020.
Court records suggest that Jabbar faced financial struggles around 2022 amid divorce proceedings. While working in business development for Deloitte, he earned approximately $10,000, accumulated credit card debt, and sought an expedited resolution to his divorce. Additionally, public records indicate a prior arrest for theft in Harris County in 2002, when Jabbar was 20 years old. Details of the case, however, remain unclear.
