Brother of ex-college football player killed in New Orleans terror attack pays emotional tribute
The brother of former college football player Tiger Bech has posted an emotional tribute to his older sibling following his death in the New Orleans terror attack.
Bech, 28, was one of 15 people killed after a terrorist drove a vehicle into a large crowd celebrating the New Year on Bourbon Street early Wednesday morning. 35 people were also injured.
Driver Shamsud Din Jabbar, who was killed in a subsequent shootout with police, rammed into the group at high speed before getting out and firing a weapon, witnesses said. Investigators also found what appeared to be improvised explosive devices at the crash site that failed to detonate.
After being struck by the vehicle, Bech was rushed to a local hospital before being kept on a life support machine until his family could arrive. Kim Broussard, the athletic director at St. Thomas More Catholic High School, told KLFY. He died later on Wednesday morning.
Tributes have poured in for the ex-Princeton wide receiver, including from his younger brother Jack – a standout wide receiver for Texas Christian University.
Jack, 22, quoted a post on You inspired me every day, now you can be with me every moment.
Jack Bech (right), the brother of former college football player Tiger Bech (left), posted an emotional tribute to his older sibling following his death in the New Orleans terrorist attack
Tiger was one of 15 people killed after a terrorist drove a vehicle into a large crowd
“I have this family T, don’t worry. This is for us’.
A native of Lafayette, Louisiana, Tiger played for Princeton from 2016 to 2018, earning second-team All-Ivy League honors as a return specialist in his final two seasons.
He graduated from the Ivy League in 2021 with a degree in finance and started working as a stockbroker at a New York firm.
The Princeton graduate, who was in New Orleans over the holidays, played high school football for St. Thomas More Catholic High School as a quarterback, wide receiver, defensive back and point runner.
His younger brother, meanwhile, will declare for the 2025 NFL Draft after becoming one of the top wideouts in the country after two seasons at LSU and another two at TCU.
The FBI said the driver was 42-year-old Jabbar, a U.S. citizen and Army veteran from Texas. They are investigating the massacre “as an act of terror” and New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell described it as a “terrorist attack.”
An ISIS flag and weapons were found in the vehicle, as the FBI continues to assess Jabbar’s connection to the terror group.
Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, said at a news conference that the agency does not believe Jabbar acted alone.
Police Commissioner Anne Kirkpatrick said the driver was “determined to cause the carnage and damage he caused” and that he “tried to run over as many people as possible.”
According to the state police bulletin, firearms and pipe bombs were found in the suspect’s vehicle.
The devices were hidden in coolers and wired for remote detonation with a remote control that was also found in the vehicle, the bulletin said.