As law enforcement authorities continue to investigate the New Orleans truck attack, family members of the victims killed in what police say was an act of terrorism are sharing stories about their loved ones.
At least 14 people were killed and more than 30 others were injured when a man drove a pickup truck into a crowd of people celebrating the new year on the city’s historic Bourbon Street early Wednesday, authorities said. The driver, identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, died in a shootout with police.
The FBI clarified in a news conference Thursday that 14 people have died in the attack so far, not including Jabbar.
Jabbar was a U.S. Army veteran from Texas who worked at the accounting and consulting firm Deloitte. In a national address Wednesday evening, President Joe Biden said investigators found a flag of the Islamic State terrorist group in the vehicle used in the attack, citing the FBI, and cautioned people against drawing conclusions this early on.
The FBI initially said it did not believe Jabbar acted alone, and New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick told NBC’s “TODAY” show Thursday morning that they are looking into “people of interest” related to the attack. However, FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia said later Thursday that they believe no one else was involved in the attack except Jabbar.
“We’re confident at this point that there is no accomplices,” Raia told reporters.
Two functional improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, were recovered in the French Quarter, Raia said, adding that surveillance footage shows Jabbar placing the devices where they were found. Jabbar had targeted Bourbon Street, he added, but investigators don’t yet know why.
Raia said Jabbar had posted videos on his Facebook account hours before the attack stating that he initially planned to harm his family and friends, but was concerned that media coverage would not focus on what Jabbar described as the “war between the believers and the disbelievers.” Jabbar also posted videos online “proclaiming his support for ISIS,” Raia said, and stated that he joined the terror group before the summer.
According to Raia, investigators believe Jabbar picked up the truck, which he rented, in Houston on Dec. 30 and drove to New Orleans the next evening.
Raia dismissed any “definitive link” between the attack and a Cybertruck explosion outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday morning, which NBC News reported is being investigated as a possible terrorist attack, as well.
Authorities have not named the victims in the attack as of Thursday morning, but family members have identified some of them. The Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry said two Israeli citizens are among those injured, and the University of Georgia said that one of its students was critically injured in the attack.
Here’s what we know about the victims who have been identified:
Martin ‘Tiger’ Bech
Bech, 27, was a Princeton University graduate who lived in New York City and worked as a junior bond trader for a Wall Street company, his mother, Michelle Bech, told NBC News. He was also an accomplished athlete.
“He was living his best life and he knew it,” his mother said. “It just leaves a huge void in our life.”
Nicole Perez
Perez, 27, managed a deli in Metairie, close to New Orleans, her employer, Kimberly Usher-Fall, told The Washington Post. She had just moved into an apartment with her 4-year-old son, whom she would bring to the deli after school.
“She was a really good mom,” Usher-Fall said, adding that Perez’s pregnant sister and mom were admitted to a hospital because of stress after learning of Perez’s death.
Reggie Hunter
Hunter was out with his cousin when he was killed in the attack, his cousin Shirell Jackson said.
The 37-year-old Baton Rouge native, who was a warehouse manager, adored his two sons. Jackson said her cousin was an “awesome person” and “a little-bitty guy” with a “big heart.” Dedeaux was a recent high school graduate who was out celebrating the new year with her cousin when she was killed, her grandmother Jennifer Smith told The New York Times. Smith said the family did not know Dedeaux was out on Bourbon Street and would have discouraged it had she known her granddaughter’s plans. Her mother, Melissa Dedeaux, posted on Facebook on Wednesday morning, “When your parents say don’t go anywhere please listen to them…this was an act of terroism and now my baby is gone y’all.” Badawi, a University of Alabama student, was identified as one of the victims of the attack by UA President Stuart Bell. His father, Belal Badawi, wrote in a Facebook post Wednesday that his son died early that morning in the attack. In May, his father had shared photos of their family celebrating Badawi’s high school graduation on Facebook. The Palestinian Youth Movement identified Badawi as a Palestinian American. Tenedorio, 25, had a New Year’s Eve dinner at his brother’s house with his family, his mother, Cathy Tenedorio told NBC News. She said she tried to dissuade him from going into New Orleans that night, but he wanted to go to the French Quarter with his friends. An online fundraiser for Tenedorio said he was an audiovisual technician for the Superdome, the iconic stadium located less than a mile from the site of the attack. “Matthew was always the one to lighten the mood, able to laugh off life’s challenges and spread positivity wherever he went,” the fundraiser said. In a Facebook post Wednesday, Gauthreaux’s former school, Archbishop Shaw High School, said the 21-year-old was one of the victims of the attack. “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. “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.” This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.
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