The families of several victims of a truck attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day have identified their loved ones as among the 15 people killed, including former Princeton University football star Tiger Bech and Nikyra Dedeaux, an 18-year-old aspiring nurse.
Police investigators surround the white Ford F-150 pickup truck that crashed into a work lift after ... [+]
Seven people have been identified by friends or family as among those killed, as law enforcement officials continue to withhold victims' identities until autopsies are completed and next of kin can be notified.
In addition to the victims who were killed, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill told "Fox & Friends" Thursday that at least 10 more people are “clinging to life” in local hospitals.
Officials said Bourbon Street, the famous party street on which the attack took place, could reopen as soon as Thursday afternoon ahead of the rescheduled Sugar Bowl college football playoff game between the University of Georgia and Notre Dame.
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.
Bech, an All-Ivy League honoree in his time at Princeton, died at a New Orleans hospital late Wednesday, The Times-Picayune first reported citing Kim Broussard, the athletic director at St. Thomas More Catholic High School, Bech's alma mater. Bech graduated from Princeton in 2021 before starting work as a trader at a New York brokerage firm, and is the older brother of former LSU and TCU wide receiver Jack Bech, who called him an inspiration in a post on X.
The mother of 18-year-old Dedeaux said her daughter snuck away with her cousin and friend to celebrate the New Year on Bourbon Street. The teenager, an aspiring nurse, was the third oldest of six children and remembered by her mother as the "sweetest person." Dedeaux graduated from Harrison Central High School in Gulfport, Mississippi, in 2024 and was set to start a nursing program later this month, according to CBS affiliate WWL.
A 37-year-old father of two from Baton Rouge, Hunter was celebrating the occasion with his cousin when they were both hit by the truck that plowed into the crowd of revelers. Shirell Jackson, his cousin, told The Times-Picayune Hunter died of his injuries. Hunter, a California native, loved fashion and his 12-year-old and 18-month-old sons, his cousin said.
The parents of 25-year-old victim Tenedorio told NBC News he was a "wonderful kid" who was "just starting life" and had the job of his dreams. His parents said they tried to dissuade him from going to downtown New Orleans for New Year's Eve celebrations, and blamed the "foolishness of youth" for his decision to go to Bourbon Street. Tenedorio was an audiovisual technician at New Orleans' Caesars Superdome stadium, where the Sugar Bowl is set to take place. His cousin, Christina Bounds, said in a Facebook post that he "gave the best hugs and had the biggest smile."
A single mother in her late 20s was confirmed as one of the people killed Wednesday by her employer, Kimmy's Deli at Lakeway in Metairie, Louisiana. She was described by deli owner Kimberly Usher as "a really good mom" to her 4-year-old son, Melo.
The Episcopal School of Baton Rouge confirmed that 2024 graduate Badawi died as a result of the attack. Badawi was a freshman at the University of Alabama and had pledged to join the Sigma Chi fraternity, according to The Birmingham News. His father, Belal Badawi, posted on Facebook that his son had died and asked Allah for the “patience and strength to overcome.”
New Orleans native Gauthreaux, 21, was among those killed according to his alma mater, Archbishop Shaw High School, from which he graduated in 2021.
Ryan Quigley, another former Princeton football player, was among those injured, according to his alma mater, Lansdale Catholic High School. An unidentified University of Georgia student was critically injured and is receiving medical treatment, the school’s president Jere Morehead said in a statement. WBBH in Fort Myers reported that two 20-year-old women from the Florida city were among those injured. Two Israeli citizens and two Mexican nationals were also hurt, officials in both countries told CNN and the Times.
Law enforcement agencies say a man named Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen from Texas, drove a rented Ford pickup truck into the crowd on Bourbon Street at around 3:15 a.m. Wednesday, and then opened fire at police. He was killed in an ensuing gunfight. Federal agents do not think Jabbar was “solely responsible” for the attack, FBI Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge Alethea Duncan said in a press conference, and are working to identify his “potential associations.” President Joe Biden said in a speech that Jabbar “posted videos on social media indicating that he was inspired by ISIS, expressing a desire to kill.” Officials are also investigating a set of potential improvised explosive devices that were found inside the truck and in the surrounding area, which they say may have been assembled at an Airbnb rental in New Orleans. Murrill also said a house fire early Wednesday appears to be connected to the incident.