Two of the more than 30 people injured in what is being called a terror attack in New Orleans Wednesday morning have been confirmed as Elle Eisele and Steele Idelson, former students from the Canterbury School in Fort Myers.
Congressman Byron Donalds on Wednesday posted the names of the two injured students, both 2023 graduates of Canterbury. Social media posts say Eisele is studying at the University of Georgia while Idelson is attending San Diego State University.
School officials shortly thereafter released a statement saying the families of the two were grateful for “thoughts, prayers, and offers of support…”
The statement added that the school was thankful for “the exceptional care and compassion” the two were being given at University Medical Center.
Further details on their injuries were not available.
More on the attack
- Counter-terrorism expert says we shouldn't be surprised by ramming attacks
- The latest on the New Year's attack in New Orleans
- The Sugar Bowl is postponed to Thursday after the deadly attack in New Orleans
- Photos: Scenes after the attack on New Orleans' Bourbon Street
- Dozens of casualties after pickup truck plows into a New Orleans crowd
- New Orleans mayor says New Year's Day incident was a 'terrorist attack'
The Associated Press reported that 15 people were killed when a driver rammed a pickup truck into a crowd on New Orleans’ famed French Quarter early on New Year’s Day. He was later shot to death by police, authorities said.
Wednesday’s attack turned festive Bourbon Street into macabre mayhem. The FBI is investigating it as an act of terrorism and said it does not believe the driver acted alone. An Islamic State group flag was found on the vehicle’s trailer hitch, the FBI said.
Investigators also found guns and pipe bombs, which were concealed within coolers, according to a Louisiana State Police intelligence bulletin obtained by The Associated Press. Both devices were wired for remote detonation, and a corresponding remote control was discovered inside the suspect’s truck, the bulletin said.
The FBI identified the driver as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a U.S. citizen from Texas and said it is working to determine Jabbar’s potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations.
“We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible,” Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, said at a news conference.
Jabbar was killed by police after he exited the vehicle and opened fire on officers, police said. Two officers were shot and are in stable condition, police said. They were in addition to 33 people injured in the vehicle attack.
A photo circulated among law enforcement officials showed a bearded Jabbar wearing camouflage next to the truck after he was killed. The attack happened around 3:15 a.m. in an area teeming with New Year’s revelers.
Investigators recovered a handgun and an AR-style rifle after the shootout, a law enforcement official said. The official was not authorized to discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
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