An 18-year-old girl dreaming of becoming a nurse, a father of two and a former Princeton football star were among those killed in New Orleans when the driver of a white pickup truck sped down Bourbon Street, packed with holiday revellers early Wednesday morning.
Officials have not yet released the names of the 15 people who died in the New Year’s Day truck attack, but their families and friends have started sharing their stories.
New Orleans coroner Dr. Dwight McKenna said in a statement late Wednesday that they will release the names of the dead once autopsies are complete and they’ve talked with the next of kin. About 30 people were injured in the attack. Here are the names of some of the victims:
Nikyra Dedeaux
Zion Parsons of Gulfport, Miss., had been celebrating New Year’s Eve on Bourbon Street in the city’s French Quarter when a pickup truck appeared and plowed into his friend, Nikyra Dedeaux, 18, who he said had dreamed of becoming a nurse.
“A truck hit the corner and comes barrelling through, throwing people like in a movie scene, throwing people into the air,” Parsons, 18, told The Associated Press. “It hit her and flung her like at least 30 feet and I was just lucky to be alive.”
The driver steered around a police blockade and slammed into revellers before being shot dead by police during an exchange of gunfire. Parsons described the gruesome aftermath of bleeding and maimed victims, hearing gunshots and explosive sounds.
“Bodies, bodies all up and down the street, everybody screaming and hollering,” Parsons said. “People crying on the floor, like brain matter all over the ground. It was just insane, like the closest thing to a war zone that I’ve ever seen.”
Dedeaux was a responsible daughter and helped take care of her siblings, Parsons said. Dedeaux also had a job at a hospital and was set to start college and begin working toward her goal of becoming a registered nurse.
“She had her mindset — she didn’t have everything figured out but she had the plan laid down,” Parsons said.
Reggie Hunter
Reggie Hunter, 37, a father of two from Baton Rouge, La., was also among those killed early Wednesday on Bourbon Street in what officials are investigating as an act of terror.
Hunter had just left work and headed to celebrate New Year’s with a cousin when the attack happened, his first cousin Shirell Jackson told Nola.com.
Hunter was killed and his cousin was injured, Jackson said.
Tiger Bech
A former high school and college football player from Louisiana was another victim who died after the driver of the truck accelerated and slammed into the crowd, according to an education official.
Tiger Bech, 28, died late Wednesday morning at a New Orleans hospital, according to local media outlets, citing Kim Broussard, the athletic director at St. Thomas More Catholic High School in Lafayette, La. Bech attended the high school, where he played wide receiver, quarterback, punt returner and defensive back, Nola.com reported.
Bech’s LinkedIn profile said he played football at Princeton University before graduating in 2021. Most recently he was working as an investment trader at a New York brokerage firm.
Princeton football coach Bob Surace said Wednesday that he had been texting with Bech’s father, sharing memories of the player, who was a school kick returner and receiver from 2017 to 2019.
“He might be the first Tiger to ever play for us, and that nickname kind of described him as a competitor,” Surace told ESPN. The school’s nickname is the Tigers. “He was somebody that somehow, like in the key moments, just excelled and was full of energy, full of life,” Surace said.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the 42-year-old Texas man suspected of crashing a truck into New Year’s Day revellers in New Orleans, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens of others, was a U.S. Army veteran who later worked in real estate, according to officials and public records. FBI believe Jabbar, who was killed in a shootout with police following the vehicle attack, was ‘not solely responsible,’ and they are looking for accomplices.
Bech has been working at Seaport Global, where company spokesperson Lisa Lieberman could not confirm his death. But she told The Associated Press that “he was extremely well regarded by everybody who knew him.”
Bech’s younger brother, Jack, is a top wide receiver at Texas Christian University.
In a response to a KLFY-TV report posted on X about Tiger Bech’s death, a post from an account for a Jack Bech on the social media site said: “Love you always brother ! You inspired me everyday now you get to be with me in every moment. I got this family T, don’t worry. This is for us.”
Nicole Perez
Another victim has been identified as Nicole Perez, 28, the mother of a four-year-old boy from Metaire, La., who had just moved into a new apartment. She had also recently gotten a promotion at work, as manager of a deli in Metaire.
Perez was out with her friends for New Year’s Eve when she was struck by the truck driven by Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a U.S.-born citizen from Texas. Investigators continue to search for what motivated the U.S. Army veteran, who was flying an ISIS flag from his truck, to plow into the crowd.
“She was a really good mom,” said her boss, Kimberly Usher, who started a GoFundMe account to cover Perez’s burial costs and to help with expenses for her son that “he will need to transition into a new living situation,” the donation request says.
Hubert Gauthreaux
Hubert Gauthreaux, 21, was identified by his former high school, the Archbishop Shaw High School in Marrero, La., as being among those killed on Bourbon Street.
“It is with great sorrow that we share that alum Hubert Gauthreaux, Class of 2021, was tragically killed in the senseless act of violence that occurred early this morning in the French Quarter,” the school said in a statement on Facebook.
“We are asking the entire Archbishop Shaw family to pray for the repose of Hubert’s soul, his family and friends during this difficult time, and all those affected by this tragedy.”
Meanwhile, the FBI says it recovered the stark black flag of the Islamic State from the truck used in the attack. The investigation is expected to look at any support or inspiration that Jabbar may have drawn from that violent Middle East-based group or any of at least 19 offshoots around the world.
U.S. President Joe Biden says the FBI told him that “mere hours before the attack, [Jabbar] posted videos on social media indicating that he was inspired” by the Islamic State group.
The FBI says it’s investigating the attack as an act of terrorism and does not believe the driver acted alone.
Investigators found guns and what appeared to be an improvised explosive device in the vehicle along with other devices elsewhere in the French Quarter.
Sugar Bowl rescheduled
The college football playoff quarter-final Sugar Bowl was rescheduled from Wednesday night to Thursday at 3 p.m. local time at the Caesars Superdome due to the attack, which happened just over a kilometre away from the stadium.
Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley says all parties agreed that it was in the best interest of public safety to push back the game. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry says he’ll attend and is confident the area in and around the stadium will be safe.
“Our primary focus is making the city safe going forward,” New Orleans city council member Jean-Paul Morrell told CBC News on Thursday.
He said fans should expect to spend more time to clear checkpoints at the stadium, “because we are trying to make everyone safe in the aftermath of this event.”
