Police have named the British citizen confirmed as one of the 14 people killed in the chilling New Year terror attack in New Orleans.
Metropolitan Police have revealed the identity of Edward Pettifer, a 31-year-old resident of Chelsea, London. The New Orleans coroner confirmed that Pettifer’s cause of death was due to blunt force injuries.
Apart from the 14 fatalities, numerous individuals sustained injuries during the incident involving army veteran Shamsud Din Jabbar. Jabbar drove his rental truck into a crowd of people gathered along Bourbon Street in New Orleans.
A high-ranking FBI official characterized the attack as a deliberate and malevolent act of terrorism. The official stated that Jabbar, who was reportedly influenced by ISIS (Islamic State), perpetrated the attack with premeditation.
This statement was made after an Islamic State flag was found in the back of Jabbar’s rental truck, leading the FBI to probe the 42-year-old’s ties to the extremist group and begin a hunt for potential accomplices.
Speaking to the news of the British citizen’s death, a spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office told the MailOnline: ‘We are supporting the family of a British National who has died in New Orleans and are in contact with local authorities’.
Edward Pettifer’s family have also issued a statement, in which they expressed their ‘devastation’ at his passing.
Edward Pettifer, 31, from Chelsea, London, has been named as the British national killed in the New Year terror attack in New Orleans
Flowers laid in memory of the 14 people killed in the New Orleans terror attack along the city’s famous Bourbon Street
Shamsud Din Jabbar (pictured), 42, has been identified as the driver who massacred pedestrians
The driver who plowed into pedestrians celebrating the New Year in New Orleans killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens is dead following a shootout with police
‘The entire family are devastated at the tragic news of Ed‘s death in New Orleans. He was a wonderful son, brother, grandson, nephew and a friend to so many.
‘We will all miss him terribly. Our thoughts are with the other families who have lost their family members due to this terrible attack. We request that we can grieve the loss of Ed as a family in private. Thank you,’ the statement read.
As US authorities continue to investigate the horrendous terror attack, attention has turned to Jabbar’s home in a trailer park in the Rushwood neighborhood of northern Houston — a run-down bungalow with geese, chickens, and sheep roaming the yard.
It remains unclear exactly what motivated Jabbar, but reports suggest his life had gone off the rails after he quit the Army in July 2020. The cash-strapped father and double divorcee’s real estate business was floundering.
Court records show Jabbar faced a deteriorating financial situation in 2022 while separating from his then-wife. Jabbar said he was behind on house payments and had accumulated credit card debt and wanted to quickly finalize the divorce.
It’s also unclear how heavily involved he was with Masjid Bilal mosque, a sprawling double-story brick complex that also includes a school, which is just a few minutes’ walk from his house.
The nearby religious center and ISGH have worked hard in recent years to distance themselves from the hardline Islamist views that gave rise to such violent jihadist groups as ISIS and al-Qaeda.
Its mosques, which were founded by Pakistani immigrants from the 1960s onward, are used as polling stations; leaders publicly proclaim a moderate form of Islam compatible with modern-day US lifestyles.
ISGH has hosted dozens of interfaith gatherings and worked with local Christian churches on charity food drives, according to CAIR.
But they also have a sketchy track record when it comes to hard line Islamist views, which were exposed after the 9/11 terror attacks on the US and tougher efforts to root out home-grown religious extremists.
Notably, ISGH in 2001 hired the Algerian cleric Bouchikhi, who served as the spiritual leader at a southeast Houston mosque, and who was arrested and then deported in 2011, reportedly for immigration violations.
Bouchikhi has a record of making extreme statements about non-Muslims and women that are at odds with ISGH’s professed values.
Jabbar’s alignment with a terrorist group such as Islamic State has come as a shock to those who used to know him, with one former classmate now telling DailyMail.com that ‘wasn’t the kind of guy who looked for trouble’.
Following the horrific tragedy, an image of what appears to be a flagpole on the back of the unidentified driver’s truck circulated online
A black flag with white lettering lies on the ground rolled up behind Jabbar’s rental truck following his vicious terror attack
Videos circulating on social media that appear to have been recorded at the scene shows multiple casualties on the ground as shots ring out in the background
Kendrick Watson Smith Sr., who went to middle and high school in Texas with Jabbar and his twin sister, said ‘Sham’ – as his classmates used to call him – was smart, ‘very mild-mannered’, and seemingly well-liked because of his ‘cool personality’.
‘As far as I can remember, I don’t recall him being a troublemaker or anything like that,’ Smith, 42, said. ‘That just wasn’t in his character. He was bookish and quiet, but he had a group of friends.’
He also recalled how he was surprised when Jabbar went into the military, claiming it seemed he had been on track to go off to college and become a lawyer or doctor.
Jabbar served in the Army from March 2007 to July 2020, deploying to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010. He transferred to the army reserve in 2015 and left in 2020 with the rank of staff sergeant.
Jabbar earned nearly two dozens awards while serving in the military, including a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Task & Purpose reported.
This is a breaking news story and is being updated.
