Kareem Badawi was in the middle of his freshman year at the University of Alabama after graduating from Episcopal High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana’s capital, about an hour’s drive from New Orleans. Badawi had pledged to join the Sigma Chi fraternity at his college in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, when he was killed.
“I mourn alongside Kareem’s family and friends over this heartbreaking loss,” said school president Stuart R Bell.
Badawi’s father, Belal, posted a message on Facebook expressing “great sadness and grief” over his son’s murder. The message added: “We ask Allah to grant him mercy and give us the patience and strength to overcome. »
Martin “Tiger” Bech was from Lafayette, Louisiana, about a three-hour drive west of New Orleans. He played football at St. Thomas More Catholic High School in Lafayette before doing the same at Princeton University, New Jersey’s Ivy League institution.
Bech graduated from Princeton in 2021 and worked at a brokerage firm in New York, St. Thomas More athletic director Kim Broussard said.
Princeton football coach Bob Surace said in a statement that it made sense that his team — the Tigers — would share the Bech nickname. “He was a tiger in every way – a fierce competitor with endless energy, a beloved teammate and a caring friend,” Surace remarked.
Bech’s brother, Jack, is a football player for Texas Christian University. He previously played football at Louisiana State University, whose team is fiercely supported in Baton Rouge and beyond – and is also nicknamed the Tigers.
“I still love you, brother!” Jack Bech wrote about X. “You inspired me every day – now you can be with me every moment. I have this family, T, don’t worry. This is for us.
Andrew “Drew” Dauphin graduated from Auburn University in Alabama in 2023. His profile on the professional development social media platform LinkedIn indicated that he had worked as a supplier process engineer for the American Honda Motor Company Inc after completing his studies at Auburn.
“Words cannot express the grief the Auburn family feels for Drew’s family and friends during this incredibly difficult time,” Auburn President Christopher Roberts wrote in a statement. “Our thoughts are with the Dauphin family and the families of all the victims of this senseless tragedy.”
Ni’Kyra Cheyenne Dedeaux resided in Gulfport, Mississippi, about a 75-minute drive northeast of New Orleans. She graduated from Harrison Central High School in Gulfport and was preparing to enter a nursing program at Blue Cliff College later in January.
A video posted on social media showed her smiling broadly and stroking the muzzle of a mounted police officer’s horse on Bourbon Street shortly before the attack.
Dedeaux’s mother, Melissa Dedeaux, told New Orleans newspaper Nola.com that her daughter was intelligent, outgoing and “the sweetest person.”
“She would give you anything, anything,” Melissa Dedeaux said. “Nothing.”
William “Billy” DiMaio attended Holmdel High School in his hometown of Holmdel, New Jersey, before graduating from Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia. He is remembered by those close to him as an outstanding lacrosse player and he worked as an account executive in New York for the Audacy radio station.
He had gone to New Orleans to spend time with friends who were ringing in the start of 2025 and watching the College Football Playoff quarterfinal between the universities of Notre Dame and Georgia.
“Billy had a smile that could light up a room,” DiMaio’s family said in a statement. Describing him as the eldest of three siblings, the family added: “His energetic personality inspired everyone around him. He cared about others more than himself and… occupied a unique and irreplaceable role in their lives as well as those of their cousins and friends. We will miss him very much.
Hubert Gauthreaux is a 2021 graduate of Archbishop Shaw High School, a Catholic institution in Marrero, Louisiana, just across the Mississippi River from New Orleans. His family remembered him as an avid baseball fan with a vibrant sense of humor.
“You are so loved by everyone you have touched in this world,” his sister Brooke wrote on social media. “I’m so proud to be your big sister. I would do anything to come back and be in the stands to support you on the baseball field.
She also wrote: “A part of me (is) gone. My sweet and selfless little brother. You deserved so much better than that.
Reggie Hunter resided in Prairieville, Louisiana, west of New Orleans and east of Baton Rouge.
Hunter’s family described him as a father of two who, on a whim, decided to join the Bourbon Street festivities on New Year’s Eve after finishing his job as a warehouse manager.
In a social media post, Hunter’s cousin Shirell Robinson Jackson wrote that Hunter’s killing was a “punch in the gut.”
“He had just sent a happy new year text message to our family group,” she added.
Terrence Kennedy grew up in the Uptown neighborhood of New Orleans and graduated from Walter Cohen High School, named after a local free man of color born shortly before the American Civil War and who had a significant political career. He loved NFL football and supported the New Orleans Saints, the Kansas City Chiefs and – his favorite team – the Pittsburgh Steelers, all of whom had stars from Kennedy’s hometown.
Kennedy’s family told Nola.com that he informed his loved ones that he was going to Bourbon Street for drinks and a toast to the new year.
“I know people say this all the time, but if you knew ‘Uncle Terry,’ you knew he was kind, calm, and super clean,” Kennedy’s niece, Monisha James, wrote on social media. “I’m really at a loss for words.
Nicole Perez was a 27-year-old mother and deli manager in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb immediately west of New Orleans.
An online tribute said Perez was dedicated to her work and had a son about five years old. Besides his son, Perez’s survivors include his mother and sister.
Her manager, Kimberly Usher, wrote: “She was so beautiful and full of life. »
British national Edward Pettifer was killed while visiting New Orleans from Chelsea, west London. He was the stepson of Alexandra Pettifer, formerly known as Tiggy Legge-Bourke, who was the nanny of Princes William and Harry from 1993 to 1999, including at the time of the death of their mother Diana.
A statement released by Pettifer’s family said his loved ones were “devastated by the tragic news of Ed’s death” on Bourbon Street.
“He was a wonderful son, brother, grandson, nephew and friend to so many,” it reads.
Members of the British royal family were among those who expressed solidarity with Pettifer’s mourners. William said he and Catherine, Princess of Wales, were “shocked and saddened” by the killings of Petiffer “and all those innocent people” killed alongside him.
Meanwhile, royal sources told the Guardian that King Charles had personally contacted Pettifer’s family to offer his condolences after learning of the murder.
Latasha Polk, 45, had a 14-year-old son and was a nurse’s aide before she was killed in the Bourbon Street attack, her family told WWL Louisiana.
Polk’s family said she was a hardworking nurse’s aide. Records show she resided in New Orleans.
According to what his sister, Regnicea Butler, told New Orleans’ NBC affiliate WDSU, the French Quarter was Polk’s favorite place.
Brandon Taylor had previously resided in the Terrytown and Harvey communities of New Orleans, across the Mississippi River from the historic French Quarter where the Bourbon Street attack took place.
Those close to him told Nola.com that he had worked as a cook and was an avid rap music fan.
“No one should ever have to die like that,” Taylor’s fiancee, Heather Genusa, told the news site. “He didn’t deserve it.
“Brandon was everything to me and I lost everything.”
Matthew Tenedorio graduated from Pearl River Central High School in Carriere, Mississippi, less than an hour’s drive northeast of New Orleans. He worked as an audiovisual technician at Caesars Superdome, which hosted the Notre Dame-Georgia football game that many were in New Orleans to see at the time of the Bourbon Street attack.
Tenedorio’s cousin, Christina Colgan Bounds, said he spent New Year’s Eve having dinner with family at her brother’s house in Slidell, La., about a 30-minute drive from New Orleans. He then joined some friends in the city and the group headed toward Bourbon Street.
Born on New York’s Long Island before moving south to be near his grandparents, Tenedorio “made lasting memories and friendships” during his life, those close to him said in an online tribute.
“Matthew was always the one to lighten the mood, able to laugh at life’s challenges and spread positivity wherever he went,” the tribute reads.
Elliot Wilkinson was from Slidell, Louisiana. His brother, Cecil Wilkinson, told CNN that Elliot had a history of mental illness, had been unhoused and had recently been released from prison.
According to the channel, Cecil had offered his brother a place to live but Elliot had not accepted because “he never wanted to be a burden on the family”.
Cecil Wilkinson said he, his sister and his brother’s daughter were devastated to learn Elliot was killed in the Bourbon Street attack.
“You were loved and will truly be missed,” Elliot’s brother wrote on social media. “I know life has been difficult for you at times. But I didn’t expect to get this phone call (that)…you…were hit in New Orleans, in the French Quarter.
theguardian
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