The New Orleans coroner’s office has released the identities of most of the 14 people killed in the deadly truck attack against New Year’s Day revelers on the city’s famous Bourbon Street.
More than half of the 12 victims identified after being slain Wednesday by a US army veteran who was shot dead by police were from the New Orleans metropolitan area or other Louisiana communities. Others were residents of Alabama, Mississippi and New Jersey – and one was a British citizen.
All of those whose names were known when the coroner began released identifies Friday and Saturday were between the ages of 18 and 63. The coroner’s office listed their causes of death as blunt force injuries caused by the attacker’s truck, despite preliminary information from authorities that he might have fatally shot some.
One person – described as a woman – remained unidentified by the coroner’s office. Her family identified her to WWL Louisiana and other local news outlets out as Latasha Polk, 45.
Those who were confirmed dead were Drew Dauphin, 26, of Montgomery, Alabama; Kareem Badawi, 18, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Brandon Taylor, 43, of Harvey, Louisiana; Hubert Gauthreaux, 21, of Gretna, Louisiana; Matthew Tenedorio, 25, of Picayune, Mississippi; and Nikyra Dedeaux, 18, of Gulfport, Mississippi.
Also confirmed dead were Nicole Perez, 27, of Metairie, Louisiana; Reggie Hunter, 37, of Prairieville, Louisiana; Martin “Tiger” Bech, 27, originally of Lafayette, Louisiana, and a resident of New York City; Terrence Kennedy, 63, of New Orleans; Elliot Wilkinson, 40, of Slidell, Louisiana; William DiMaio, 25, of Holmdel, New Jersey; and Edward Pettifer, 31, of west London, England.
Details about most of the victims emerged as family members who were informed of their loved ones’ deaths as of Friday spoke to media outlets. Schools and employers with ties to the victims released information as well as statements of condolences.
The 15th person to die Wednesday was the attacker, Shamsud-Din Jabbar. Jabbar also injured 35 people, including two police officers whom he shot while wielding a rifle, before authorities killed him to end what they have classified as an act of terrorism. The wounded include citizens of Mexico and Israel.
Investigators believe Jabbar came to New Orleans from Houston and briefly stayed at a short-term rental home about two miles away from Bourbon Street. He then planted homemade, remote-controlled bombs hidden in ice chests about six blocks away from the foot of Bourbon Street before launching the attack, according to investigators, who reached that conclusion in part after reviewing municipal surveillance camera footage.
Jabbar crashed into a construction lift and – despite wearing body armor and a helmet – was killed in a shootout with police about three blocks away from the bombs, which he did not manage to detonate, officials said in statements on Friday.
Before the attack, officials said, Jabbar intentionally lit the short-term rental home where he had stayed on fire. At least one neighbor reported the blaze about two hours after the attack, when it had mostly burned out. Firefighters arrived to extinguish its remnants and spotted a gasoline can, a drill and other tools, prompting them to call police.
Law enforcement later determined Jabber had used various materials in the home to make bombs.
New Orleans’ city government years earlier had acquired several kinds of barriers meant to prevent an attack like the one on Wednesday and one near Magdeburg, Germany, in December that killed at least five people, including a nine-year-old.
But the barriers protecting the area where the attack on Bourbon Street began had either been taken down for repairs or otherwise not deployed by the time Jabbar drove around a blockade anchored by a single patrol car with its lights flashing in the middle of Bourbon Street.
Joe Biden was among those to express condolences to the families of the people murdered by Jabbar.
“My heart goes out to the victims and their families who were simply trying to celebrate the holiday,” the president said in a statement. “There is no justification for violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation’s communities.”
