Attack in New Orleans: who are the victims?

At least fifteen people were killed in the attack on the pickup driver on New Year’s Eve in New Orleans. Who are these victims?

The perpetrator of the attack in New Orleans left at least fifteen victims and dozens injured on New Year’s Eve. The authorities have not yet released the list of victims. The city’s chief medical examiner, Dr. Dwight McKenna, said he would only do so once the autopsies were completed and the families had been notified. Relatives of certain victims still published their names in the press and on social networks.

Reggie Hunter, a 37-year-old father

Reggie Hunter is the father of two children aged twelve years and eighteen months. Aged thirty-seven, he was leaving work when he joined his cousin, Kevin Curry, thirty-eight, for the New Year’s festivities. They left on a whim, but still left a message on the family WhatsApp group. Reggie Hunter has been running a logistics warehouse for six years. His cousin, Shirell Jackson, described him as fashion-crazed, well-dressed, handsome and very close to his children. He died from his injuries. His cousin, Kevin, was injured in the leg and is expected to recover from his injuries.

The Hunter family launched a call for donations to fund Reggie’s funeral: “We want to give him the dignified and heartfelt send-off he deserves, but unfortunately the financial burden of funeral costs is overwhelming for our family at this already difficult time.” Nearly $9,600 (9,300 euros) has already been raised.

Kareem Badawi, 18-year-old graduate

Kareem Badawi had just finished high school. He was out for the New Year’s Eve festivities. It was thanks to a message from the Episcopal School of Baton Rouge that we learned of his death. According to local media Nola Newsthe director of the establishment as well as the chaplain wrote: “As an Episcopal community, we are called to support each other in times of great sadness. I encourage you to keep these former students, their families and all those who are mourning in your thoughts and prayers.”

Matthew Tenedorio, 25-year-old technician

Matthew Tenedorio, aged twenty-five, had spent the early evening with his family for New Year’s Eve dinner, before joining friends on Bourbon Street. His mother, Cathy, confided in ABC News : “I only told him, ‘I love you. Happy New Year. Please message me when you get home,’ and that message never came.” Matthew Tenedorio’s parents made numerous calls to their son’s friends to try to track him down, but the group of friends had to separate when the driver entered the street. It was after reporting his disappearance to hospitals that the parents were informed of their son’s death. Matthew was a fiber optic video technician. He notably worked at the Caesar Superdome, the emblematic stadium in the center of the city.

Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux, 18 years old

Eighteen-year-old Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux wanted to become a nurse, like her mother and grandmother. She was due to begin her training in January. His grandmother, Jennifer Smith, spoke to New York Timesassuring that she did not know that her granddaughter had gone to the New Year’s festivities. She explains that she has always been worried about her family and that she would have tried to discourage them if she had known. Her mother, on the other hand, knew she was going to the French Quarter for the evening. As if to be sure that her daughter would return safely, she asked him to come pick her up from work on Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. It was finally an uncle who came to pick her up after her night at work, carrying this horrible news.

Martin Bech, former American football player, 27 years old

Martin Bech was surely present in New Orleans for the final of the Sugar Bowl, the American college football championship. He had been a receiver, quarterback, punt returner and defender on the American football team at St. Thomas More Catholic High School in Lafayette. He then continued his career at Princeton University, where he also studied finance until graduating in 2021. He marked his playing partners, the Tigers, the name of the Princeton team , one of the best in the country.

He worked as an investment trader at a New York brokerage firm. His former college football coach spoke to the channel ESPN : “He was someone who somehow, in key moments, excelled and was full of energy, full of life. He is perhaps the first Tiger to play for us , and that nickname sort of describes him as a competitor.” On social networks, his brother Jack sent him a message of love: “I will always love you my brother! You have always inspired me and I know that I will have you close to me at all times. take care of the family, don’t worry.”

Nicole Perez, 27-year-old mother

Nicole Perez was raising her four-year-old son, Melvin, nicknamed “Melo,” alone. Twenty-seven years old, she had just been promoted from manager of the grocery store where she worked in New Orleans. His boss praised his desire to learn and succeed to the *Associated Press*. Young Melo regularly came to see his mother at work, where she taught him to read and count during his breaks. A fundraiser was launched on GoFundMe in order to finance the funeral of Nicole Perez and to help her son in this “new life situation”. 32,000 dollars, or a little more than 31,000 euros, were raised.

Hubert Gauthreaux, 21 years old

Twenty-one-year-old Hubert Gauthreaux was a recent graduate of Archbishop Shaw High School in Marrero, Louisiana. It was members of his family who confirmed the death of the young man on social networks. His former school, from which he graduated in 2021, confirmed his death: “It is with great sadness that we announce that former student Hubert Gauthreaux, of the class of 2021, was tragically killed in the act of senseless violence that occurred early this morning in the French Quarter.”