Heartbroken family and friends set out to identify the growing number of victims after a terrorist suspect During New Year’s Eve, he drove a car into a large crowd in New Orleans.
The suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was “determined to inflict the carnage and damage he had caused.” New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick said.
“It was very deliberate behaviour,” the police chief said. “This guy tried to run over as many people as he could.”
At least 15 people were killed and dozens more were injured in Wednesday morning’s suspected terrorist attack, the FBI said.
Coroner Dr. Dwight McKenna of New Orleans said in a statement late Wednesday that they will release the names of the dead once autopsies are completed and that they have spoken to next of kin.
SUSPECT IDENTIFIED AS FBI INVESTIGATES ACT OF TERRORISM AFTER BOURBON STREET ATTACK
Princeton Tigers wide receiver Tiger Bech (7) is tackled by Pennsylvania Quakers running back Hunter Hayes (8) during a game between the Penn Quakers and the Princeton Tigers on November 17, 2018 at Powers Field in Princeton, NJ. (Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Tiger Bech, 27
Former Princeton football player Tiger Bech, 27, was killed in the attack on Bourbon Street.
In a heartfelt post, his brother, Jack Bech, remembered the All-Ivy League kick returner who played for Princeton from 2016 to 2018.
“I love you always, brother! You inspired me every day, now that you can be with me any moment,” he wrote in a social media post. “I have this family T, don’t worry. This is for us.’
He graduated from St. Thomas More Catholic High School in Lafayette, Louisiana, in 2015, the school said in a news release.
“The St. Thomas More Catholic High School community mourns the loss of one of our own, Tiger Bech, who passed away early this morning as a result of the New Year’s attack in New Orleans‘ they wrote. “Tiger graduated in 2015 and was a standout in football, lacrosse and track and field.”
“Please keep the Bech family in your prayers during this time,” they said.
Trevant Hayes, 20, is in the French Quarter following the death of his friend, Nikyra Dedeaux, 18, after a pickup truck crashed into pedestrians on Bourbon Street, followed by a shooting in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Wednesday, January 1. 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)
Nikyra Dedeaux, 18
Dedeaux was an aspiring nurse when she was hit by the high-speed car during her New Year’s Eve celebration.
Her boyfriend, Zion Parsons, told The Associated Press that she was hit by the truck and said he was “lucky to be alive.”
“A truck drove into the corner and came through and threw people like in a movie scene, people in the air,” Parsons, 18, told The Associated Press. “It hit her and threw her at least 30 feet, and I was lucky to be alive.”
WHO IS SHAMSUD DIN JABBAR? WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE NEW ORLEANS NEW YEARS TERRORIST EXPECTATION
Parsons said the 18-year-old had a job at a hospital and was going to college.
“She had her mindset – she didn’t have everything figured out, but she had the plan laid out,” he said.
Investigators head to the scene after a person previously drove a vehicle into a crowd at Canal and Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Wednesday, January 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Nicole Perez, 28
Nicole Perez was a single mother of her four-year-old son when she was killed in the truck attack in New Orleans, her employer confirmed to The Associated Press.
Perez was recently promoted to manager at Kimmy’s Deli in Metarie, Louisiana and “was really excited about it,” deli owner Kimberly Usher said in a phone interview. Usher confirmed Perez’s death through her sister, who also works for her.
OFFICIALS DELAY SUGAR BOWL AFTER apparent terror attack on BOURBON STREET
“She was a very good mother,” said Usher, who started a GoFundMe account to cover Perez’s funeral costs and to help with expenses for her son, who “needs to transition to a new living situation.”
Reggie Hunter was identified as one of the victims in the Bourbon Street attack on January 1, 2025. (Reggie Hunter via Facebook)
Reggie Hunter, 37
Reggie Hunter, 37, finished work and left for Bourbon Street on a whim to call 2025, his cousin, Shirell Jackson, said Nola.com.
“They decided to go there because he came home from work and said, ‘Hey, the Sugar Bowl is tomorrow. It’s New Year’s Eve. Let’s go into town,'” Jackson told the outlet. “Just something so simple. ‘Hey cuz, wanna take me into town?'”
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Hunter died from his injuries, Jackson said. Jackson was one of dozens injured in the attack.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
