“Happy New Year’s, I love you,” were the final words, 21-year-old Hubert Gauthreaux told his sister before he was killed in the terrorist attack in New Orleans.
Hubert was among 14 victims celebrating the start of 2025 on Bourbon Street in the city’s historic French Quarter when Shamsud Din Jabbar, a US Army veteran and ISIS recruit, launched a deadly attack.
Around 3.15 am, Jabbar drove a pickup truck into a crowd before exiting the vehicle and opening fire on fleeing revelers. Fourteen people were killed, and around 30 others were injured in the attack. Later, the assailant was shot during a firefight with police.
Hubert, a resident of Marrero near New Orleans, ventured into the city for New Year celebrations with friends but never returned. His final text with his sister Brooke Gauthreaux, who studies at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, occurred at 12.08am, according to the Daily Mail.
She messaged “Happy new year i love u!!”, to which he replied “love you too”.
Later, Hubert’s family visited the incident site, walking together on Bourbon Street with police accompaniment. Brooke, overcome with emotion, broke down during the walk, moving even the accompanying officers to tears.
At the memorial site, she said: “The memory of his love and kindness will remain in our hearts forever. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.” She portrayed her younger brother as a deeply caring, generous individual who brought happiness to those around him.
In the immediate aftermath of the attack, the Hubert family posted frantically on social media about his disappearance, later discovering he had died in hospital.
“Missing kid due to the craziness in the FQ! Please BOLO!!!” read one post, initially hoping he was merely displaced in the chaos. As reality set in, tributes replaced search posts in the period following the suicide attack.
Brooke said: “I woke up yesterday and a piece of me was gone. My sweet, selfless baby brother. You deserved so much better than this”.
“Without expecting a random phone call from you just to talk for an hour while you’re driving home, for advice, for you to vent or to get your little shit ass out of trouble. Without asking you for a favor and you dropping everything to help me or coming all the way to and from Lafayette to pick me up or drop me off,” she said in a Facebook post.
“I was looking forward to that 2 and a half hour drive you were gonna take me on tomorrow to get me back home. You are so loved by everyone you’ve touched in this world, she added.
Brooke further continued, “I’m so proud to be your big sister. I’d do anything to go back and be in the bleachers supporting you on the baseball diamond. Back to complaining about driving you and your friends everywhere, but doing it every single time anyway. Nothing feels real anymore. Part of me is just expecting for you to walk through the door with that slick little grin and give me a hug. I miss you so so much already.”
The 21-year-old’s ex-school, Archbishop Shaw High School stated: “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.”
Hubert Gauthreaux’s name was added to a mural on Bourbon Street, created by artist Roberto Marquez, commemorating the 14 victims of the New Orleans truck attack. LaTasha Polk was the final victim to be identified.
The victims, aged between 18 and 63, were predominantly in their 20s and hailed from diverse locations, including Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, New Jersey, and Great Britain.
The victims identified were: Edward Pettifer, Brandon Taylor, Elliot Wilkinson, Terrence ‘Terry’ Kennedy, William ‘Billy’ DiMaio, Hubert Gauthreaux, Kareem Badawi, Andrew ‘Drew’ Dauphin, Matthew Tenedorio, Nikyra Dedeaux, Reggie Hunter, Martin ‘Tiger’ Bech, LaTasha Polk, and Nicole Perez.
Kareem Badawi, aged 23, attended the University of Alabama as a first-year student. He had previously completed his education at the Episcopal School of Baton Rouge and was originally from Louisiana.
“My son was full of life,” stated his father Belal Badawi during an interview. “I lost my son. He’s a good boy. Unfortunately, his life ended that quick and with no reason. Just nothing he did to deserve for somebody to come and kill him,” Badawi told of his son to the Associated Press.
Nikyra Dedeaux, an 18-year-old from Gulfport, Mississippi, aspired to become a registered nurse, according to her friend Zion Parsons. She was employed at a hospital and was prepared to commence her university studies to pursue her career goals.
“She had her mindset – she didn’t have everything figured out but she had the plan laid down,” Parsons said. Parsons, also a Gulfport resident, was enjoying New Year’s Eve celebrations on Bourbon Street when a vehicle struck Dedeaux.
“A truck hit the corner and came barreling 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,” she added.
