LONDON — The royal family paid tribute Saturday to the British man killed in the New Orleans truck-ramming attack, a 31-year-old who was the stepson of Prince William and Prince Harry’s former nanny.
Edward Pettifer was among 14 people killed when an ISIS-inspired U.S. Army veteran drove his truck into a crowd of revelers on New Year’s Day, his family confirmed Saturday.
“The entire family are devastated at the tragic news of Ed’s death in New Orleans. He was a wonderful son, brother, grandson, nephew and a friend to so many,” the family said in a statement issued by London’s Metropolitan Police.
“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,” it added.
Pettifer, from the west London neighborhood of Chelsea, was the stepson of Alexandra Pettifer. She cared for Charles’ sons in the 1990s, when she was widely known as Tiggy Legge-Bourke.
Charles was deeply saddened after being made aware of Edward Pettifer’s death through official channels and has been in touch with the family to share personal condolences, a Buckingham Palace source said.
William, the heir to the throne, said that “Catherine and I have been shocked and saddened by the tragic death of Ed Pettifer.”
In a post on X, he said that “our thoughts and prayers remain with the Pettifer family and all those innocent people who have been tragically impacted by this horrific attack.”
All but one of the victims of the truck-ramming attack have now been identified by the New Orleans coroner’s office.
A female whose identity is unknown was announced as the final victim. Efforts to identify her are ongoing, according to the coroner’s office.
All 14 victims died from blunt-force trauma on Bourbon Street, the coroner’s office said.
Seven of the victims lived in Louisiana, two were from Mississippi, one was from Alabama, one was from New York and one was from New Jersey.
News that the Briton was killed in the attack emerged as authorities revealed that Shamsud-Din Jabbar had planned to use a transmitter to detonate two explosive devices he had placed nearby.
Neither of the explosive devices was detonated, and it remains unclear whether the failure was due to a malfunction, lack of activation or another issue.
