A teenage girl who dreamt of being a nurse is among the 10 people killed in the terrorist attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Eve.
Nikyra Dedeaux, 18, died in the crash, which saw a white pickup truck with an ISIS flag ramming into a crowd on Bourbon Street, in the famous French Quarter.
Follow our live blog for the latest updates in the New Orleans attack
The recent graduate of Harrison Central High School, had travelled to the city to ring in 2025 with her cousin and a friend.
Her mother, Melissa Dedeaux, posted on Facebook, that she had told her daughter not to go out for the celebrations.
‘This was an act of terrorism and now my baby is gone… She is no longer with us,’ the distraught mother wrote alongside a picture of Nikyra in her graduation gown.
Zion Parsons watched the truck speed into the crowd and hit his friend.
The 18-year-old described the gruesome aftermath: ‘Bodies, bodies all up and down the street, everybody screaming and hollering.’
He said he watched as authorities put a tarp over Nikyra’s body. He later called her family to tell them what had happened.
‘I hadn’t had time to cry up until I called her mother and she asked me, “Where’s my baby”,’ he said. ‘That broke me.’
Father-of-two, Reggie Hunter, was also named as one of the victims in the ‘horrific’ incident, according to NOLA.
The 37-year-old decided to head to Bourbon Street on a whim on Tuesday to watch the festivities after finishing work.
He died from his injuries, while his cousin, who had joined him, is believed to be hospitalised with extensive internal wounds.
Former football player Tiger Bech suffered catastrophic injuries during the attack and was later pronounced dead.
The 27-year-old had travelled to New Orleans for the Christmas holiday.
Another victim has been named as 27-year-old Nicole Perez by ABC News.
Her boss, Kimberly Usher-Fall, said Nicole had just been promoted to a management position.
She had a son, four-year-old Melvin, and Kimberly described her as ‘a great mother’ and ‘really exciting little young lady’.
Officials have not yet released the names of the victims, but their families and friends have taken to social media to pay tributes.
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