Victims of New Orleans Bourbon Street attack include student, former college football player and loving father

By CNN

Published January 2, 2025 5:30 PM

WVUE-DT, CNN

By Taylor Galgano, Danny Freeman, Kia Fatahi, Chris Lau, David Williams, Ryan Young, Jason Morris and Sara Smart, CNN

(CNN) — Matthew Tenedorio, 25, had a superpower: He could make people laugh, his cousin said.

Tenedorio leaves behind two loving older brothers, his parents and many other devastated cousins, his cousin said. He’s one of the 14 people tragically killed when a rented pickup truck plowed into a crowd celebrating the New Year in New Orleans during Wednesday’s early hours.

Tenedorio’s cousin Zach Colgan told CNN he can’t stop replaying years of memories in his head, as the boys grew up together.

“He liked telling stories. When he told stories, he pretty much painted the picture for you as if you were there,” Colgan said. “He walked into a room and he would light the room up.”

The FBI confirmed Thursday that 14 people were killed. The attacker is also dead. The New Orleans coroner previously announced 15 deaths but did not provide any identifying information about the decedents.

Authorities have yet to release the names of the victims, but some have been identified by their relatives and people close to them.

Here are the names of the victims and what we’ve come to know so far:

Matthew Tenedorio

Tenedorio, from Slidell, Louisiana, was a larger-than-life kind of guy, one of his cousins said.

“He had high hopes of having his own family,” Christina Bounds said. “He’s always cracking jokes. He always had a smile, I mean he smiled more than I did.”

Colgan, one of his other cousins, said Tenedorio couldn’t stay mad – he was happy all the time.

Tenedorio liked playing video games, playing outside, playing sports, skateboarding and going to work, his cousins said.

Tenedorio worked on the video production team for ASM, the company that manages two major venues in New Orleans — the Caesars Superdome, where the NFL New Orleans Saints play, and the Smoothie King Center, home of the NBA Pelicans, the two teams said in a statement posted on X.

Tenedorio was “young, talented, and had a bright future” and he made content for both teams, the teams said.

Colgan said Tenedorio loved his job, and would always say “I got a cool job!” Tenedorio got a front-row view to a lot of cool events and would help put them on, he said.

On New Year’s Eve, Tenedorio traveled to New Orleans with two friends to celebrate.

“That night he had dinner with his family, his mom, his dad, his brother and his niece at his brother’s house in Slidell, Louisiana,” Bounds told CNN. “They begged Matthew not to go.”

Tenedorio’s family could not get in touch with him on New Year’s Day. They later learned why.

Tenedorio died from a gunshot, Bounds said the coroner told the family. CNN cannot independently confirm Tenedorio was killed by a gunshot.

“I was wailing. Like we were all screaming and crying … (my grandma) cried for eight hours straight yesterday,” Bounds said. “He was the fun-loving one. Not that anybody deserves this, but he’s the least that we would think this would happen to, you know?”

Tiger Bech

The native of Lafayette, Louisiana, was a former Princeton University football player and had been working as a junior trader for capital markets firm Seaport Global Holdings in New York City after graduating in 2021.

Bech was “a ferocious competitor with endless energy, a beloved teammate and a caring friend,” Princeton’s football coach Bob Surace said in a statement on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old had traveled to his home state for the holidays and was planning to fly back to New York on Wednesday morning, according to his older sister Virginia Bech.

Instead, he was caught up in the deadly attack while on his way back to a hotel with his best friend Ryan Quigley, she said.

Bech died from internal injuries including head trauma hours after the attack, his sister said.

“Happy new year” was the last text message he sent to a family group chat, at 1:30 a.m.

“Evil will not prevail,” Virginia Bech told CNN, describing herself as “heartbroken.”

Quigley, Tiger Bech’s friend, is in a stable condition with severe cuts to the head and a broken leg, the sister said, citing doctors.

Reggie Hunter

Hunter, 37, was a father of two known for his sense of humor, according to his cousin Shirell Robinson Jackson.

Hunter leaves behind his 11-year-old and a 1-year-old, Jackson said.

“He loved his kids. He loved loved loved his family,” Jackson tells CNN.

Hunter loved to laugh and tell jokes, as Jackson described multiple inside jokes the two had. Jackson said she and Hunter talked about going to the gym in the new year together and going to one another’s churches in the new year.

Hunter was a manager at a local warehouse company for several years.

“Reggie was a beautiful person inside and out,” his cousin Travis Hunter told CNN. “To know Reggie was to love Reggie. He was always in a good mood.”

He added Reggie was a great father and a “good, pure-hearted person.”

The Baton Rouge native was at Bourbon Street with another cousin, Kevin Ball, when disaster struck.

After the attack, he was taken to a hospital, where he was still alive when some family members visited him.

But by the time Jackson got to the hospital at 7:20 a.m. he had died from internal injuries, the cousin said.

“Not a threat to anyone…he surely didn’t deserve this, none of the victims did. This is the 1st day of 2025 and a punch to the gut,” Jackson wrote on Facebook.

Kareem Badawi

Kareem Badawi, a student from the University of Alabama, was also among the 14 people killed, the school confirmed.

“I learned today that Kareem Badawi, one of our students at The University of Alabama, was killed in the terrorist attack in New Orleans,” university President Stuart R. Bell announced in a statement on Facebook. “I grieve alongside family and friends of Kareem in their heartbreaking loss,” he added.

Badawi’s high school, the Episcopal School of Baton Rouge, said it would be holding an evening prayer session on Thursday for Badawi and Parker Vidrine, another former student who was injured in the attack. Both Badawi and Vidrine graduated from the high school in 2024.

Hubert Gauthreaux

School officials at Archbishop Shaw High School announced Hubert Gauthreaux, 21, was killed in Wednesday’s truck attack in New Orleans.

“It is with great sorrow that we share that alum Hubert Gauthreaux, Class of 2021, was tragically killed in the senseless act of violence,” the school announced in a Facebook post.

“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.”

New Orleans City Council member Helena N. Moreno told CNN she had spent time with Gauthreaux’s family on Wednesday, while they were trying to find him after the attack. She learned about his death later that night.

“I had been sitting with Hubert’s family earlier that day as they were hoping to get information that he had been found in one of the hospitals, and unfortunately, he was here,” she said, pointing to Bourbon Street.

Drew Dauphin

A recent Auburn University graduate, Drew Dauphin, was identified by the school as one of the victims in Wednesday’s attack.

“On behalf of Auburn University, I send my sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of 2023 graduate Drew Dauphin who was taken from us in the New Orleans terror attack,” Auburn University President Christopher B. Roberts said in a post on Facebook.

“Words cannot convey the sorrow the Auburn Family feels for Drew’s family and friends during this unimaginably difficult time,” Roberts said. “Our thoughts are with the Dauphin family and the families of all the victims of this senseless tragedy.”

The injured

Among the dozens injured were two female college students, Elle Eisele and Steele Idelson, both 19 and alumni of Canterbury School in Fort Myers, Florida, according to school.

Eisele attends the University of Georgia while Idelson goes to San Diego State University.

“The Eisele and Idelson families are deeply grateful for the outpouring of thoughts, prayers, and offers of support for our daughters following the tragic attack in New Orleans,” Canterbury said in a statement on behalf of the families to CNN.

The families also thanked medical staff and first responders for their care and swift actions.

At least two Mexican citizens were among the injured in the New Orleans attack, Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum condemned the attack, expressing her “solidarity with the families of the victims and with the people of the United States.”

Two Israeli citizens were injured in the attack, according to Israel’s foreign ministry.

CNN’s Isaac Yee contributed to this report.

UPDATE: An earlier version of this story included the attacker in the number of people killed. At least 14 people were killed. The attacker is also dead.

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