‘She was the sweetest person’: First details of New Orleans terror victims emerge

Go to Article

Nikyra 'Cheyenne' Dedeaux (Courtesy)
Nikyra 'Cheyenne' Dedeaux (Courtesy)
Nikyra ‘Cheyenne’ Dedeaux

The first details of the New Year’s terror attack in New Orleans are beginning to emerge now that the suspect has been identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, an American man living in Texas.

One victim is 18-year-old Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux, who sneaked out to New Orleans on Tuesday from Gulfport, Mississippi, along with her cousin and a friend, 18-year-old Zion Parsons, to celebrate the New Year on Bourbon Street.

Shamsud-Din Jabbar (Video screenshot)
Shamsud-Din Jabbar

She was one of at least 10 fatalities after Jabbar drove a pickup truck down the French Quarter Street in an act of terrorism.

“I just want to see my baby,” Nikyra’s mother Melissa Dedeaux, 40, told Nola.com. “She was the sweetest person. She would give you anything, anything.”

“As a mother, when my niece and [Parsons] said they covered her with a sheet, I just knew that was it for my daughter,” Melissa Dedeaux said.

Known to her family as “Cheyenne,” she was the third oldest of Melissa Dedeaux’s six children.

“She was my favorite,” Melissa Dedeaux indicated. “She was my child.”

A 2024 graduate of Harrison Central High School in Gulfport, Mississippi, Cheyenne was following in her mother’s footsteps and was set to begin a nursing program at Blue Cliff College on Jan. 13.

Is the news we hear every day actually broadcasting messages from God? The answer is an absolute yes! Find out how!

“Cheyenne was a very smart and outgoing girl,” Melissa Dedeaux said. “She’s never gotten into any trouble.”

“If she wasn’t at work, she was sleeping or getting together with her girls. She always had carloads of friends,” she continued.

“I didn’t even know she came over here,” Melissa Dedeaux said. “No matter how good you are, how sweet you are, you can be the one that’s buried. Things like this can happen.”

(X)

Another victim of the terror attack is 37-year-old Reggie Hunter, a Baton Rouge father of two who reportedly decided on a whim to head to New Orleans for New Year’s Eve.

“They decided to go out there because he came in from work and said, ‘Hey, the Sugar Bowl is tomorrow. It’s New Year’s Eve. Let’s go to the city,” said his first cousin Shirell Jackson, who was also struck by the pickup, according to Nola.com.

“Just something so simple. Hey cuz, had, wanna ride me to the city?”

Hunter worked as a warehouse manager for the past six years, and reportedly took pride in his 12-year-old son’s academic accomplishments in the STEM field and in his 18-month old son.

Hunter also loved working out with his family and friends.

“He wanted to be in the gym with his homeboys and cousins,” Jackson said. “And he said, ‘I’m getting swole. I said, ‘Where? You are so little.’”

“He was the city slicker. The tennis shoes have to match the hat,” she said.

She and other relatives never expected this past Christmas to be their last family gathering with Hunter.

“You are praying for a prosperous year in 2025,” Jackson said. “And never do you think this is the news you are going to get.”

Follow Joe on Twitter @JoeKovacsNews

‘The look of this guy shouts terrorist’: Suspect named in New Orleans terror attack, ISIS flag on truck

WATCH: Authorities hold news conference on New Orleans terror

‘Hell-bent on creating carnage’: At least 10 killed, 35 injured as pickup truck rams crowd on New Orleans Bourbon Street

WATCH: New Orleans terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar posted video on YouTube

WATCH: Shocking video of moment terrorist crashed into New Orleans crowd



Comment on this Article Via Your Disqus Account