New Orleans attack victim Reggie Hunter’s final text in family group chat hours before death
Reggie Hunter, 37, has been identified as one of 15 people killed in the US New Orleans truck attack.
The suspected terror attack unfolded in the French Quarter, the city’s vibrant historic centre, at the intersection of Canal and Bourbon Streets about 3.15am on Wednesday.
Hunter — from Baton Rouge in Louisiana — leaves behind two children, aged 11 years old and a one-year-old, according to his cousin Shirell Robinson Jackson.
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Jackson hasn’t been in touch with Ball directly, but her cousin spoke with him this morning and said he was awake and asking about Hunter.
The last time Jackson heard from Hunter was at 12.07am when he texted their family group chat saying: “Happy new year.”
About five hours later, he arrived at the hospital, according to Jackson.
“He was alive when they got there,” she said.
However, he died from internal injuries by the time she arrived to the hospital at 7.20am.
Hunter’s injuries indicate the truck drove over him, Jackson said she was told by a doctor.
He had a ruptured spleen, a punctured lung and internal bleeding, among other injuries, she said.
“(He was) not a threat to anyone … He surely didn’t deserve this, none of the victims did,” Jackson said.
“This is the 1st day of 2025 and a punch to the gut,” Jackson wrote on Facebook.
Hunter loved to laugh and tell jokes, as Jackson described multiple inside jokes the two had.
“He loved his kids,” Jackson said. “He loved, loved loved his family.”
Another victim has been identified as Tiger Bech, a 2015 graduate of St. Thomas More Catholic High School in Lafayette, Louisiana.
The school confirmed her death in a statement.
The school said Bech was a “standout” in football, lacrosse and track and field.
At least 30 people have been injured in the attack.
The injured have been taken to five hospitals across the city including University Medical Centre, Touro Hospital, East Jefferson General Hospital, Ochsner Medical Centre Jefferson Campus and Ochsner Baptist Campus.
“We have information to a certain degree of the demographics of those who are in the hospital right now,” Kirkpatrick said.
“We do not know at this point how many could be tourists versus locals, but from the information I have right now, it seems the majority are locals.”
He drove a white pickup truck carrying a black flag “at a very fast pace” into the crowd before firing at officers, striking two, who are in stable condition.
The suspect was then shot by police and has been confirmed dead.
“It was very intentional behaviour,” Kirkpatrick said. “This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could.”
“He was hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did.”
Crowds had gathered in the area for New Year’s celebrations — including an open-air concert and midnight countdown, with restaurants offering special deals and performances, according to the city’s official website.
The attack came just hours before the kickoff of the All-State Sugar Bowl, a college football quarterfinal held in the city’s Caesars Superdome, which draws hordes of fans from across the country.
New Orleans has been the scene of shootings and cars colliding with crowds at past parades.
In November 2024, two people were killed and 10 others injured in two separate shootings along a New Orleans parade route and celebration attended by thousands, local media reported.
In February 2017, a pick-up truck driven by a man who police said appeared to be highly intoxicated ploughed into a crowd of spectators watching the main Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, injuring more than 20 people.
-With NBC
Originally published on CNN
