A San Diego State University student, Steele Idelson, was among those injured in a suspected terrorist attack on New Year's Day in New Orleans, as a man drove a vehicle into a crowd on Bourbon Street, leaving a trail of tragedy in the city known for its joie de vivre. According to FOX 5 San Diego, the incident left 15 people dead and dozens more injured, occurring around 3:15 a.m. when 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a Houston resident and Army veteran, plowed his pickup truck into revelers before being killed in a police shootout.
The SDSU spokesperson, Rafael Avitabile, confirmed Idelson's current enrollment at the university but could not provide further information due to student privacy laws. At the same time, a KTVU report detailed that Idelson and their friend Elle Eisele, both hailing from Fort Myers, Florida, and 2023 graduates of Canterbury School, were injured. Eisele is now a student at the University of Georgia, and both were receiving care at the University Medical Center after the attack, which the FBI is investigating as an act of terrorism, FOX 5 San Diego has reported.
There's an outpouring of grief and support for the victims and their families, with the Eisele and Idelson families expressing their appreciation in a statement, saying, "The Eisele and Idelson families are deeply grateful for the outpouring of thoughts, prayers, and offers of support for our daughters following the tragic attack in New Orleans" and they extended their thanks to first responders and those providing care, according to the same report by FOX 5 San Diego.
While Idelson's injuries remain undisclosed, the authorities are beginning to shed light on the perpetrator, Jabbar, who, according to FOX 5 San Diego, had posted videos online suggesting allegiance to ISIS before committing the attack that has been officially bearing the grim marker of premeditation, as the FBI disclosed in a morning update, the nature of the fatalities and the poignant narratives behind each lost soul in New Orleans await public sharing, once the New Orleans Coroner Dr. Dwight McKenna concludes autopsies and engages with the bereaved families.
