New Orleans terror attack victim’s heartbreaking last text revealed as sister collapses from grief
A young man killed in the terrorist attack in New Orleans. The last words to his sister were “Happy New Year, I love you.”
Hubert Gauthreaux, 21, died Wednesday along with 13 others while celebrating the first hours of 2025 on Bourbon Street, the city’s historic French Quarter.
U.S. Army veteran and ISIS recruit Shamsud Din Jabbar rammed a pickup truck into a crowd around 3:15 a.m., then got out and shot others as they fled.
Hubert, from Marrero on the outskirts of New Orleans, went into town to celebrate with friends but never returned.
He sent his last message at 12:08 a.m. to his sister Brooke Gauthreaux, a student at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
‘Happy New Year, I love you!!’ she replied, to which Hubert responded, “I love you too.”
Hubert Gauthreaux, 21, died Wednesday along with 13 others while celebrating the first hours of 2025 in Bourbon Street, New Orleans’ historic French Quarter
US Army veteran and ISIS recruit Shamsud Din Jabbar rammed a pickup truck into a crowd around 3:15 a.m., then got out and shot others as they fled
Gauthreaux’s last words to his sister Brooke were “Happy New Year, I love you.”
Hubert’s family met at the scene of the massacre on Friday and walked hand in hand down Bourbon Street, with a police escort.
Brooke collapsed with emotion as they walked, even prompting tears from the officers who escorted them, and spoke at a memorial at the site.
“The memory of his love and kindness will remain in our hearts forever. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers,” she said on behalf of the family.
She described her little brother as someone who loved deeply, gave generously and brought joy to all who knew him.
The Hubert family frantically shared messages on social media saying he was missing in the aftermath of the attack, before revealing he was found dead in a hospital.
‘Missing child due to the madness in the FQ! Please BOLO!!!’ one person wrote, believing he was simply stranded in the chaos.
Posts turned to tributes as family came to terms with his death in the hours and day after the suicide bombing.
He sent his last message at 12:08 a.m. to his sister Brooke Gauthreaux, a student at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Hubert with Brooke at his 2021 graduation from Archbishop Shaw High School
Brooke collapsed with emotion as they walked, even prompting tears from the officers who escorted them, and spoke at a memorial at the site.
‘I woke up yesterday and a part of me was gone. My sweet, selfless brother. You deserved so much better than this,” Brooke wrote.
‘I don’t know how to go on without you. Without expecting a random call from you, just to talk for an hour while you drive home, for advice, to vent or to help your little ass out of trouble.
“Without asking you for a favor and having you drop everything to help me or come all the way to and from Lafayette to pick me up or drop me off.”
Brooke wrote that she was looking forward to the two-and-a-half-hour drive Hubert would take her to campus on Friday.
“You are so loved by everyone you touched in this world. I’m so proud to be your big sister,” she wrote.
Hubert, from Marrero on the outskirts of New Orleans, went into town to celebrate with friends but never returned
Hubert’s name was added to a mural on Bourbon Street started by Roberto Marquez, with the names of the 14 victims
A group of friends mourn the loss of Hubert Gauthreaux whose photo is placed on a wooden cross, among others who died
“I would do anything to go back and be in the stands to support you on the baseball diamond. Back to complaining that you and your friends are taken everywhere, but you still do it every time.
‘Nothing feels real anymore. Part of me just expects you to walk through the door with that slick grin and give me a hug. I miss you so much already.’
Family friend Amy Foy shared a photo of Hubert’s first tattoo, which he got on Oct. 18, which heartbreakingly shows the gates of heaven shining behind a white dove and three dice.
“We love you sweet angel and we will miss you terribly,” she wrote.
Hubert’s name was added to a mural on Bourbon Street started by Roberto Marquez, with the names of the 14 victims.
Gavin Gauthreaux (right) and his son Hubert in a photo he shared after his death
Hubert with his sister as children in a photo shared online after his death
Family friend Amy Foy shared a photo of Hubert’s first tattoo, which he got on October 18, which heartbreakingly shows the gates of heaven shining behind a white dove and three dice
Hubert with his mother as a baby
The young man’s former school, Archbishop Shaw High School, said: “It is with great sadness that we share that alum Hubert Gauthreaux, Class of 2021, was tragically killed in the senseless act of violence that occurred early this morning in the French Quarter.
‘He was 21 years old. We ask the entire Archbishop Shaw family to pray for the repose of Hubert’s soul, his family and friends during this difficult time, and for all those affected by this tragedy.”
New Orleans released the names of 12 of the 14 victims on Friday, but two remain unidentified. Another 35 people were injured.
The victims were: Edward Pettifer, Brandon Taylor, Elliot Wilkinson, Terrence ‘Terry’ Kennedy, William ‘Billy’ DiMaio, Hubert Gauthreaux, Kareem Badawi, Andrew ‘Drew’ Dauphin, Matthew Tenedorio, Nikyra Dedeaux, Reggie Hunter, Martin ‘Tiger’ Bech and Nicole Perez.