A Gulfport teen reportedly was among those killed in a New Year’s Day mass killing in New Orleans.
NOLA.com reported 18-year-old Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux, a recent graduate of Harrison Central High School, was in New Orleans to welcome the new year with her cousin and a friend.
Her mother, Melissa Dedeaux, posted on Facebook, that she had told her daughter not to go out for New Year’s Eve.
“When your parents say don’t go anywhere, please listen to them,” she wrote. “This was an act of terroism and now my baby is gone y’all.”
Melissa Dedeaux asked for prayers for her and her family as they began to cope with the tragic loss.
Nikyra Dedeaux was known by her middle name to her family, NOLA.com said.
Her friend, 18-year-old Zion Parsons said the teens were leaving Voodoo Chicken and Daquiris on Bourbon Street near Bienville Street when he heard a commotion.
Melissa Dedeaux’s niece, who was not named in the NOLA.com story, told her gunfire rang out, and they began running. Cheyenne Dedeaux darted into the street and into the path of the barreling truck. She suffered horrific injuries.
According to NOLA.com, the Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office has not officially confirmed Cheyenne Dedeaux’s death.
Police attend the scene where a pickup truck drove into a large crowd on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. January 1, 2025 in this screengrab taken from a video.
At least 10 people were killed and another 30 injured in what the FBI is calling a terrorist assault. Two police officers were among those injured. Both are listed in stable condition, according to USA TODAY.
A pick-up truck crashed into the crowd at high speed around 3:15 a.m. and within moments the driver started firing on police officers from inside the vehicle, New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick told USA TODAY.
The suspect in the attack was preliminarily identified by the FBI as Shamsud Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen and Army veteran who lived in Texas. Jabbar appeared to be carrying an ISIS flag in the truck and was dressed in military gear, the FBI reported.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
Lici Beveridge is a reporter for the Hattiesburg American and Clarion Ledger. Contact her at lbeveridge@gannett.com. Follow her on X @licibev or Facebook at facebook.com/licibeveridge.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Gulfport teen Cheyenne Dedeaux allegedly killed in New Orleans attack