Matthew Tenedorio, a 25-year-old audiovisual technician at the Superdome, has been identified as one of the 14 victims of the New Year’s Day terror attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.
‘We remain heartbroken by the tragic events that claimed innocent lives in our city yesterday morning,’ read a joint statement from the NFL’s Saints and NBA’s Pelicans, both of which are owned by local billionaire Gayle Benson. ‘Among those lost was Matthew Tenedorio, a valued member of the ASM New Orleans video production team.
‘Matthew was young, talented and had a bright future helping deliver quality content for both the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans.
‘Our thoughts, prayers, and deepest condolences are with the Tenedorio family and everyone affected by this senseless act of terrorism. Together, as a city, state, and region, we will come back stronger from this tragedy.’
Tenedorio and 13 others were killed Wednesday in the French Quarter when Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old US citizen and 13-year Army veteran, rammed his vehicle into a crowd on Bourbon Street during New Year’s festivities. Jabbar, who allegedly had an ISIS flag attached to his truck, was killed in a firefight with police following the attack at about 3:15am, according to the FBI.
Just hours earlier, Tenedorio was lighting fireworks with family members and ‘having a good time, laughing,’ his cousin, Zach Colgan, told NoLa.com.
Matthew Tenedorio, an audiovisual technician at the Superdome, was among the victims
Tenedorio will be remembered for his infectious laugh, according to one of his many cousins
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Born in New York, Tenedorio grew up in Slidell, Louisiana on the opposite side Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans with two brothers and an array of cousins, many of whom will remember his infectious laugh.
‘We’d walk into my grandma’s house,’ Colgan said, ‘and he’d just started giggling.’
But it was his father’s work at the New Orleans Superdome that led Tenedorio to seek work in pro sports.
‘I think he just wanted to follow in his dad’s footsteps,’ Colgan said.
As NoLa.com reported, Tenedorio was fond of people and animals, and was thought of as a gentle person who was kind to others.
‘The dude didn’t have a mean bone in his body,’ Colgan said.
Colgan also described the difficult experience of telling their grandparents that his cousin had been killed. The family then spent ‘hours’ together crying.
‘It was unreal,’ said Colgan. ‘It’s our Matthew…that’s our Matthew.’
Hubert Gauthreaux’s family had been frantically sharing posts to social media that he was missing in the aftermath of the attack, before revealing he was found dead at a hospital
Tiger Bech, 28, of Lafayette, Louisiana, died in the New Orleans terror attack Wednesday. He had previously played football at Princeton University (right)
Ni’kyra Cheyenne Dedeaux, 18, also lost her life in the attack
Reggie Hunter, 37, (left). Nicole Perez, 27, (right)
Many have offered condolences, including Mississippi Governour Tate Reeves. Meanwhile,
Tenedorio’s extended family has started a GoFundMe to pay for funeral expenses.
A former college football star, high school senior, father-of-two and young mother are some of the 14 victims who tragically died when Jabbar deliberately drove into pedestrians with an ISIS flag attached to his car.
Tiger Bech, 28, Ni’kyra Cheyenne Dedeaux, 18, Reggie Hunter, 37, Nicole Perez, 27, Matthew Tenedorio, Kareem Badawi, and Hubert Gauthreaux, 21, lost their lives in the senseless attack in the early hours of News Year’s Day in the French Quarter.
Originally scheduled for Tenedorio’s place of work on Wednesday, the Sugar Bowl between Georgia and Notre Dame at the Superdome was moved to Thursday in the wake of the tragedy.
