A British man was killed in a terror attack in New Orleans after an army veteran rammed a truck through crowds of New Year’s celebrators.
Edward Pettifer, 31, from Chelsea, London, died from blunt force injuries he sustained in the attack on Bourbon Street which killed 13 others.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar had attached an Islamic State flag to the back of the white truck and rammed into crowds as they celebrated the start of 2025.
Edward’s family said they have been left ‘devastated’ over his passing.
They said: ‘The entire family are devastated at the tragic news of Ed‘s death in New Orleans.
‘He was a wonderful son, brother, grandson, nephew and a friend to so many.
‘We will all miss him terribly. Our thoughts are with the other families who have lost their family members due to this terrible attack.’
The Metropolitan Police confirmed they were working with New Orleans Police to repatriate his body.
President Joe Biden said Jabbar was ‘inspired by ISIS’ and had a ‘desire to kill,’ adding: ‘I know while this person committed a terrible assault on the city, the spirit of our New Orleans will never, never, never be defeated.’
Other victims include Nikyra Dedeaux, 18, who dreamt of becoming a nurse and recently graduated high school.
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.
Former football player Tiger Bech, 27, suffered catastrophic injuries during the attack and was later pronounced dead.
Another victim has been named as 27-year-old Nicole Perez by ABC News.
Jabbar, who was born in Texas, was a lone wolf who did not act on orders of the terrorist group.
He served in the Army from March 2007 to July 2020, deploying to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010. He transferred to the army reserve in 2015 and left in 2020 with the rank of staff sergeant.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
