William and Kate pay tribute to Brit killed in New Orleans terror attack as he's named as former royal nanny's stepson
4 January 2025, 10:08 | Updated: 4 January 2025, 14:46
William and Princess Kate have paid tribute to the British man killed in the New Orleans terror attack after it was revealed he was the stepson of the Prince's former royal nanny.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Edward Pettifer, from Chelsea, died from blunt force injuries during the New Year's Day attack in the French Quarter.
Writing on X, the royals said: "Catherine and I have been shocked and saddened by the tragic death of Ed Pettifer.
"Our thoughts and prayers remain with the Pettifer family and all those innocent people who have been tragically impacted by this horrific attack."
The Met Police confirmed Mr Pettifer's identity on Saturday as his family paid tribute.
"He was a wonderful son, brother, grandson, nephew and a friend to so many," they said in a statement.
"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."
Read more: New Orleans terror suspect ‘wasn’t a violent person’ but got ‘radicalised’, says half-brother
Driver behind New Orleans terrorist attack ‘acted alone’
Edward was the child of Charles Pettifer, an ex-Coldstream Guards Officer and Camilla Wyatt.
Mr Pettifer split from Ms Wyatt, eventually marrying Tiggy Legge-Bourke, 59.
Mrs Legge-Bourke was the nanny of royals Prince William and Prince Harry between 1993 and 1999.
The King is said to be "deeply saddened" by the Brit's passing, according to Palace sources.
The New Orleans coroner earlier released a list of 12 others killed in the attack:
- Andrew Dauphin, 26, from Montgomery, Alabama
- Kareem Badawi, 23, from Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Brandon Taylor, 43, from Harvey, Louisiana
- Hubert Gauthreaux, 21, from Gretna, Louisiana
- Matthew Tenedorio, 25, from Picayune, Mississippi
- Nikyra Dedeaux, 18, from Gulfport, Mississippi
- Nicole Perez, 27, from Metairie, Louisiana
- Reggie Hunter, 37, from Prairieville, Louisiana
- Martin Bech, 27, from New York City, New York
- Terrence Kennedy, 63, from New Orleans, Louisiana
- Elliot Wilkinson, 40, from Slidell, Louisiana
- William Dimaio, 25, from Holmdel, New Jersey
One victim is still yet to be identified.
An FCDO spokesperson said: "We are supporting the family of a British National who has died in New Orleans and are in contact with local authorities."
Police identified 42-year-old Shamsud Din Jabbar, a US citizen from Texas and a US army veteran, as the prime suspect in the case on Wednesday.
He ploughed a truck into a crowd of New Year's revellers before exiting the vehicle and opening fire.
Inside, an ISIS flag was discovered, with the FBI currently investigating what affiliations Jabbar may have had with terrorist group.
It comes after his half-brother said on Friday that his actions were ‘completely out of character’.
“You would never think he would do anything like this. He was just the calmest, most gentle person you could possibly know," Abdur-Rahim Jabbar said.
He said his brother’s actions did not reflect the Muslim faith, and instead showed signs of extremism and radicalisation.
Ex-FBI agent on New Orleans attack and Vegas Cybertruck explosion
“I want to be clear, even though he claimed to be a Muslim, this type of behavior is more extremist behavior. This is radicalization,” he said.
“I know they see his name, they see our name. There’s already a stigma around Muslims — that these are the type of things we do. But I want to be clear. It’s not.”
Jabbar was in a Ford pick-up truck, rented using the same Turo rental app used by a Cybertruck bomber in Las Vegas hours later.
The FBI has now said the suspect was fatally shot after exiting his video and opening fire on the public, later engaging in a gunfight with police.
President Biden said Jabbar expressed a “desire to kill” in videos posted on social media.Addressing the nation, Biden said the FBI had briefed him on the attack.
The suspect uploaded videos to social media "mere hours before the attack" indicating that he was inspired by IS and expressing a "desire to kill", Biden said.
Suspected improvised explosive devices were also found in the area and a long gun with a "suppressive device" on it, acting as a silencer, was also recovered.
42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabber was an Army veteran and US citizen from Texas.
A flag associated with the Islamic State (IS) group was found in the vehicle he was driving and the FBI said it was investigating what affiliations Jabbar may have had with terrorist groups.
