Two 25-year-old men with Long Island roots were among at least 14 people killed in the New Orleans terrorist attack in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day.
Billy DiMaio was killed when terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar rammed his pickup truck into crowds of people celebrating the holiday on Bourbon Street in the heart of the city’s historic French Quarter and Matthew Tenedorio was fatally shot when Jabbar exchanged gunfire with police, according to authorities and the victim’s families.
“We’re just kind of speechless — in shock,” Matthew’s mother Cathy Tenedorio told NBC. She added that during a family dinner on New Year’s Eve she “tried to dissuade him from going into New Orleans … the foolishness of youth, they just have to experience life with no fear.”
Police fatally shot Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. Army veteran from Texas who proclaimed his support for the terrorist group ISIS before the attack that injured about 30 survivors. Authorities are continuing to investigate how he planned the attack.
Tenedorio, the youngest of three siblings, was an audiovisual technician at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. His family launched a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for his funeral expenses.
“Matthew was a beloved son, brother, uncle, and friend whose laid-back spirit and infectious laughter brought joy to everyone around him,” his family wrote in a tribute. “Matthew was always the one to lighten the mood, able to laugh off life’s challenges and spread positivity wherever he went.”
DiMaio, the oldest of three, moved from LI to New Jersey in his high school years, was captain of the lacrosse team at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, and worked as an account executive at Audacity.
“Words cannot express the devastation our family is experiencing,” his family said in a statement to CBS. “Billy had a smile that could light up a room, and his laughter was truly infectious. His energetic personality inspired everyone around him.”
Long Island and New York City authorities are on alert after the attack.
“We are closely monitoring the tragic events that occurred in New Orleans overnight and communicating with our partners in federal and state law enforcement,” Nassau County police said in a statement. “Although there are no threats to Nassau County, our vigilance, as always, is high.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul said state police and the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services are in contact with federal authorities in the wake of the attack.
“New Yorkers have confronted the horror of terrorism, and we have always come out stronger for it,” the governor said. “We stand ready to help our countrymen in New Orleans in any way we can. But I want to stress that New Yorkers should rest assured their government, and I personally, take this threat deadly seriously. We will continue doing everything we can to keep New York safe.”
