Nikyra Dedeaux
Among the 14 victims of the New Year’s Day truck attack along Bourbon Street were four African Americans, the New Pittsburgh Courier has learned: 18-year-old Nikyra Dedeaux, of Gulfport, Miss.; 37-year-old Reggie Hunter, of Prairieville, Louisiana; 47-year-old Latasha Polk, of New Orleans; and 63-year-old Terrence Kennedy, of New Orleans.
More than 30 others were injured in the terrorist attack, in which the now-deceased suspect, 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Texas, drove a rental truck from Houston to New Orleans, and then drove the truck along the sidewalk and street of the famous New Orleans Bourbon Street area, in an unthinkable attack. He was then met with gunfire by police and was killed in the firefight. It happened around 3:15 a.m. New Orleans time. The FBI believes the killer was “100 percent inspired by ISIS.”
On Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden flew to New Orleans to pay their respects to those who lost their lives, as a memorial on Bourbon grows with each hour for the fallen victims.
“If there’s one thing we know, New Orleans defines strength and resilience—you define it,” the president said at the local St. Louis Cathedral.
Latasha Polk
LaTasha Polk, her family said, was a hard-working nurse’s assistant from the Treme area of town. She went to Bourbon Street to celebrate the new year with her brother. Polk was the mother of a 14-year-old son.
Nikyra Dedeaux, a 2024 Harrison Central High School graduate in Gulfport, was set to start her nursing school program at Blue Cliff College in Mississippi on Jan. 13.
Reggie Hunter
Reggie Hunter was the father to two sons, who was described by family as funny, loving and caring.
And Terrence Kennedy absolutely loved the French Quarter. He went down to Bourbon to celebrate the new year with large “2025” glasses that he wore. He was the type of person who could befriend anyone, his family said.
Terrence Kennedy
About Post Author
