One of the victims who died in the attack on New Orleans, LA’s Bourbon Street early Wednesday morning was 26-year-old Birmingham, AL resident Drew Dauphin, who was in town to attend the Billy Strings New Year’s Eve run at UNO Lakefront Arena, his family confirmed to The Washington Post.
The attack has been a sobering topic in Billy Strings fan circles in the days since. Many of the 10,000 attendees of Strings’ concert, which ended shortly before the attack on Bourbon Street, had traveled in from all over the country, and any of them could have conceivably left after the show and headed down to the French Quarter to take in the New Year’s scene.
Per city and federal officials, a U.S. Army veteran identified by authorities as Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove a rented pickup truck around a parked police car that serving as a barricade and plowed through a crowd of New Year’s revelers on the famously pedestrian-filled Bourbon Street, leaving more than a dozen dead and injuring several times more bystanders just hours into 2025. He died in a shootout with police at the scene. Two officers were shot but remained in stable condition as of Thursday.
Per The New York Times, officials reported that Jabbar “had the flag of the Islamic State in the truck” and added that “the F.B.I. said it was investigating the episode as a potential act of terrorism.” Christopher Raia of the bureau’s counterterrorism division asserted that the attack was “100% percent inspired by ISIS,” but noted that “no evidence of co-conspirators or active connections to terror groups had been found.”
“It’s unbelievable,” the family of Drew Dauphin said in a statement to The Washington Post. “Who should have to come up with words for this? Our family is suffering more than anyone can imagine. … Our family is numb and in shock through this horrific and senseless tragedy,” the family continued, adding that Drew “lit up every room he entered” with his “infectious” smile.
“We cherish the 26 years that we had with him and raising him will always be one of the greatest joys of our lives,” the Dauphin family added. “We did not get to spend enough time with him and can’t believe we will never see him again this side of heaven.” Per his LinkedIn profile, he was a 2023 graduate of Auburn University with a degree in industrial and systems engineering.
Officials have not yet released the names of the people killed in the New Orleans New Year’s Day truck attack, but their families and friends have started sharing their stories. Per a report published on Friday by NPR, victims who have been identified by their families include New York City-based 25-year-old Billy DiMaio, who was in town to celebrate New Year’s Eve and attend the Sugar Bowl; 21-year-old Marrero, LA native Hubert Gauthreaux; University of Alabama freshman Kareem Badawi, who was home in Louisiana for winter break; 25-year-old Matthew Tenedorio, who had spent the evening having dinner with his mother and brother in the suburbs before heading into New Orleans; 18-year-old Nikyra Dedeaux, who had dreams of becoming a nurse; Reggie Hunter, a 37-year-old father of two from Baton Rouge; Tiger Bech, New York-based, 27-year-old Ivy League graduate who was in Louisiana visiting his family for the holidays; and Nicole Perez, a single mother in her late 20s who managed a deli in Metairie, LA.
New Orleans Coroner Dr. Dwight McKenna said in a statement late Wednesday that the names of the dead will be released once autopsies are complete and they’ve talked with the next of kin. A spokesperson for the coroner said Thursday that there were no updates.
On Wednesday, prior to the news that a Billy Strings New Year’s concert attendee was among the victims of the attack, the bluegrass star posted a statement to his social media accounts. “I am absolutely heartbroken and appalled about what happened in New Orleans last night,” he wrote. “I can’t stop thinking about the unsuspecting victims and how unfair this is…about the families whose loved ones won’t be coming home from their NYE celebration this year. Or the people who are on these streets every single day whose perspective of the holiday and the city will be permanently scarred. Why?? Why can’t people just enjoy a night out and celebrate the new year in peace without someone carrying out senseless acts of violence? We had just finished three beautiful nights of music…there was so much love in the air at the end of the show. To think that just 2 hours later this kind of tragedy would unfold just baffles me. My heart is in pieces for the victims and their families.”
Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of all the victims of this senseless act of violence. Look out for one another out there.