LONDON — The royal family paid tribute Saturday to the Briton killed in the New Orleans truck attack, a 31-year-old who was Prince William’s stepson and Prince Harry’s former nanny.
Edward Pettifer was among 14 people killed when an ISIS-inspired U.S. Army veteran plowed his truck into a crowd of revelers on New Year’s Day, his family confirmed Saturday.
“The entire family is devastated by the tragic news of Ed’s death in New Orleans. He was a wonderful son, brother, grandson, nephew and friend to so many,” the family said in a statement released by the London Metropolitan Police.
“We will all miss him terribly. Our hearts go out to other families who have lost family members to this terrible attack. We ask that we be able to grieve the loss of Ed as a family privately,” he added.
Pettifer, originally from the Chelsea district of west London, was the stepson of Alexandra Pettifer. She looked after the sons of King Charles III in the 1990s, when she was widely known as Tiggy Legge-Bourke.
Charles was deeply saddened after learning of Edward Pettifer’s death through official channels and has been in contact with the family to share his personal condolences, a Buckingham Palace source said.
William, the heir to the throne, said that “Catherine and I were shocked and saddened by the tragic death of Ed Pettifer.”
In an article on X, he said that “our thoughts and prayers are with the Pettifer family and all those innocent people who have been tragically affected by this horrific attack.”
All but one of the victims of the truck-ramming attack have now been identified by the New Orleans coroner’s office.
A woman whose identity is unknown was announced as the latest victim. Efforts to identify him continue, according to the coroner’s office.
All 14 victims died from blunt force trauma on Bourbon Street, the coroner’s office said.
Seven of the victims lived in Louisiana, two were from Mississippi, one from Alabama, one from New York and one from New Jersey.
News that the Briton was killed in the attack came to light as authorities revealed Shamsud-Din Jabbar had planned to use a transmitter to detonate two explosive devices he had placed nearby.
None of the explosive devices detonated and it remains unclear whether the failure was due to a malfunction, lack of activation or another problem.
Max Taylor, Rebecca Cohen And Tom Winter contributed.
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