A teenage girl who aspired to be a nurse and a graduate of Princeton University are among the first victims of the suspected terror attack in New Orleans to be named.
Officials have not yet released the names of the 15 people killed after a man drove a pick-up truck into crowds on New Year’s Day, but some of their loved ones have started sharing their stories.
The suspect has been identified by the FBI as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabba, who was born and raised in the US.
The bureau is treating the attack as terrorism after an Islamic State (IS) flag was found on the back of the vehicle Jabba was driving. He was later killed in a shoot-out with police.
Image: Ni’Kyra Cheyenne Dedeaux. Pic: NOLA, city of New Orleans
Ni’Kyra Cheyenne Dedeaux
Ni’Kyra Cheyenne Dedeaux, 18, died after being struck by the vehicle while celebrating the start of 2025 with her friend Zion Parsons.
Mr Parsons, also 18, has said Ms Dedeaux dreamed of becoming a nurse.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:28
New Orleans suspect ‘says hello’ on old promo vid
He said: “A truck hit the corner and comes barrelling through throwing people like in a movie scene, throwing people into the air.
“It hit her and flung her like at least 30 feet and I was just lucky to be alive.”
Image: Tiger Bech. Pic: Family
Martin ‘Tiger’ Bech
Martin “Tiger” Bech was on Bourbon Street when the truck hit him, his mother told Sky News’ US partner network NBC News.
Michelle Bech added that she was able to say goodbye to her son, who was 27, before he died in hospital.
Mr Bech, a graduate of Princeton University, lived in New York City, where he was a junior bond trader for a Wall Street Company.
His brother Jack posted on X: “Love you always brother ! You inspired me everyday now you get to be with me in every moment. I got this family T, don’t worry. This is for us.”
Head coach of the Princeton Tigers, the team Mr Bech played for, described him as a “tiger in every way”.
“There was no more appropriate nickname of a Princeton player I coached,” Bob Surace said.
“He was a ‘Tiger’ in every way – a ferocious competitor with endless energy, a beloved teammate and a caring friend. Our last conversation was about how proud I was of the growth he showed during his time at Princeton and the success he was having after graduation.
“My love goes to the entire Bech family.”
Image: Matthew Tenedorio
Matthew Tenedorio
Matthew Tenedorio, 25, was shot dead by the attacker after he got out of the vehicle and opened fire after ploughing into crowds, his mother said.
Cathy Tenedorio, from Carriere in Mississippi, said she had dinner with her son on New Year’s Eve.
She told Sky News: “Matthew and his friends all decided to go into The Quarter. We tried to talk him out of it.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:18
Moment police react to news of attack
“They were walking down Bourbon Street at around 3:15am when everything happened right in front of them.
“The truck crashed into a construction lift. The man jumped out and started firing the gun.
“My son was killed instantly… I just hugged and kissed him last night. Told him I loved him. He had so much hope, a great future working at the Super Dome stadium in New Orleans. He had the job of his dreams.”
Image: Nicole Perez
Nicole Perez
Single mother Nicole Perez was also among those killed in the attack.
Ms Perez, who was in her late 20s, had a four-year-old son.
She had recently been promoted to manager in her job at deli and was “really excited about it”, her employer Kimberly Usher has said.
Ms Perez would bring her son, Melo, to work and teach him basic learning skills during her breaks.
“She was a really good mom,” said Ms Usher, who started a GoFundMe account to cover Ms Perez’s burial costs.
Another victim that has been named is father-of-two Reggie Hunter from Baton Rouge in Louisiana.
His cousin, Shirell Jackson, told NBC News the 37-year-old warehouse manager was an “awesome person” and “a little-bitty guy” with a “big heart.”
He had been with another cousin who survived the attack, she said.
Image: Hubert Gauthreaux. Pic: NOLA, city of New Orleans
Hubert Gauthreaux
Hubert Gauthreaux, 21, was identified as being among those killed in the attack by his former high school.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
2:06
What we know about the New Orleans attack
In a statement, the Archbishop Shaw High School in Marrero, Louisiana, said: “It is with great sorrow that we share that alum Hubert Gauthreaux, class of 2021, was tragically killed in the senseless act of violence that occurred early this morning in the French Quarter.
“We are asking the entire Archbishop Shaw family to pray for the repose of Hubert’s soul, his family and friends during this difficult time, and all those affected by this tragedy.”
Image: Kareem Badawi. Pic: Facebook/Belal Badawi
Kareem Badawi
University of Alabama student Kareem Badawi was also one of the victims.
President of the university, Stuart R Bell said in a statement posted on Facebook that he grieves alongside Ms Badawi’s family and friends in their “heartbreaking loss”.
“Our staff have been actively engaged in supportive outreach and the office of student care and wellbeing is available,” he said.
“Please take a moment to pray for those impacted by this tragedy.”
Photos in Australian media on Wednesday are said to show Ms Giuffre being driven in a vehicle north of Perth.
The 41-year-old appeared with a bruised face last week when she posted an Instagram video saying her car had been hit by a speeding school bus as she slowed for a turn.
She said: “I’ve gone into kidney renal failure, they’ve given me four days to live, transferring me to a specialist hospital in urology.
“I’m ready to go, just not until I see my babies one last time…”
Police said they had received a report of a “minor crash” between a school bus and a car in Neergabby, about 12 miles from Perth, on 24 March.
More on Australia
Related Topics:
“The collision was reported by the bus driver the following day,” said a spokeswoman. “There were no reported injuries as a result of the crash.”
Ms Giuffre is reported to have separated from her husband.
The case was due back in court today (9 April).
Image: Ms Giuffre reached a settlement with the duke in 2022. File pic: AP
Ms Giuffre sued the Duke of York for sexual abuse in August 2021, saying Andrew had sex with her when she was 17 and had been trafficked by his friend, the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
In March 2022, it was announced Ms Giuffre and Andrew had reached an out-of-court settlement – believed to include a “substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights”.
The severity cannot be overstated, if an additional 50% tariffs are levied on all Chinese goods it will decimate trade between the world’s two biggest economies.
Remember, 50% would sit on top of what is already on the table: 34% announced last week, 20% announced at the start of US President Donald Trump’s term, and some additional tariffs left over from his first term in office.
In total, it means all Chinese goods would face tariffs of over 100%, some as high as 120%.
It’s a price that makes any trade almost impossible.
China is really the only nation in the world at the moment that is choosing to take a stand.
While others are publicly making concessions and sending delegations to negotiate, China has clearly calculated that not being seen to be bullied is worth the cost that retaliation will bring.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
6:50
Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump
The real question, though, is if the US does indeed impose this extra 50% tomorrow, what could or would China do next?
There are some obvious measures that China will almost certainly enact.
Spreaker
This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only.
Further export controls on rare earth minerals (crucial for the development of high-tech products) are one example. China controls a huge proportion of the world’s supply, but the US would likely find workarounds in time.
Hiking tariffs on high-impact US products such as agricultural goods is another option, but there is only so far this could go.
The potentially more impactful options have significant drawbacks for Beijing.
It could, for instance, target high-profile American companies such as Apple and Tesla, but this isn’t ideal at a time when China is trying to attract more foreign investment, and some devaluation of the currency is possible, but it would also come with adverse effects.
Other options are more political and come with the risk of escalation beyond the economic arena.
In an opinion piece this morning, the editor of Xinhua, China’s state news agency, speculated that China could cease all cooperation with the US on the war against fentanyl.
This has been a major political issue for Mr Trump, and it’s hard to see it would not constitute some sort of red line for him.
Other options touted include banning the import of American films, or perhaps calling for the Chinese public to boycott all American products.
Anything like this comes with a sense that the world’s two most powerful superpowers might be teetering on the edge of not just a total economic decoupling, but cultural separation too.
There is understandably serious nervousness about how that could spiral and the precedent it sets.
Donald Trump’s trade tariffs on what he calls “the worst offenders” come into effect at 5am UK time, with China facing by far the biggest levy.
The US will hit Chinese imports with 104% tariffs, marking a significant trade escalation between the world’s two largest superpowers.
At a briefing on Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Donald Trump “believes that China wants to make a deal with the US,” before saying: “It was a mistake for China to retaliate.
“When America is punched, he punches back harder.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:54
White House announces 104% tariff on China
After Mr Trump announced sweeping levies last week – hitting some imported goods from China with 34% tariffs – Beijing officials responded with like-for-like measures.
The US president then piled on an extra 50% levy on China, taking the total to 104% unless it withdrew its retaliatory 34% tariff.
China’s commerce ministry said in turn that it would “fight to the end”, and its foreign ministry accused the US of “economic bullying” and “destabilising” the world’s economies.
More on China
Related Topics:
‘Worst offender’ tariffs also in effect
Alongside China’s 104% tariff, roughly 60 countries – dubbed by the US president as the “worst offenders” – will also see levies come into effect today.
The EU will be hit with 20% tariffs, while countries like Vietnam and Cambodia see a 46% levy and 49% rate respectively.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
2:03
What’s going on with the US and China?
Since the tariffs were announced last Wednesday, global stock markets have plummeted, with four days of steep losses for all three of the US’ major indexes.
As trading closed on Tuesday evening, the S&P 500 lost 1.49%, the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.15%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.84%.
According to LSEG data, S&P 500 companies have lost $5.8tn (£4.5tn) in stock market value since last Wednesday, the deepest four-day loss since the benchmark was created in the 1950s.
Image: Global stock markets have been reeling since Trump’s tariff announcement last week. Pic: AP
Meanwhile, the US president signed four executive orders to boost American coal mining and production.
The directives order: • keeping some coal plants that were set for retirement open; • directing the interior secretary to “acknowledge the end” of an Obama-era moratorium that paused coal leasing on federal lands; • requiring federal agencies to rescind policies transitioning the US away from coal production, and; • directing the Department of Energy and other federal agencies to assess how coal energy can meet rising demand from artificial intelligence.
At a White House ceremony, Mr Trump said the orders end his predecessor Joe Biden’s “war on beautiful clean coal,” and miners “will be put back to work”.