Prince William has said he is ‘shocked and saddened’ by the death of his former nanny’s stepson in the New Orleans terror attack.
Edward Pettifor, 31, was one of 14 people killed when Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove a pick-up truck at high speed through crowds of New Year revellers on the city’s famous Bourbon Street.
He was the stepson of William and Harry’s former nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke, also known as Alexandra Pettifer.
In a personally signed message posted on the Kensington Palace social media account, William said: ‘Catherine and I have been shocked and saddened by the tragic death of Ed Pettifer.
‘Our thoughts and prayers remain with the Pettifer family and all those innocent people who have been tragically impacted by this horrific attack. W.’
The King was left ‘deeply saddened’ by the death and has been touch with the family,a palace source told the BBC.
Edward was the eldest son of ex-Coldstream Guards officer Charles Pettifer and Camilla Wyatt.
The couple went on to have another son, Harry, 29, before separating in the 1990s.
Charles then married Tiggy, now 59, who was the nanny to Prince William and Harry between 1993 and 1999.
The two had known each other since they were teenagers and Tiggy was Edward’s godmother.
They had two sons together, Tom, 22, who is Prince William’s godson and Fred, 23, who is Harry’s godson.
Tiggy was seen as a pivotal figure in the princes’ lives after their mother, Princess Diana, died in a car crash in 1997.
Following Edward’s death on Wednesday, his family said in a statement: ‘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.
‘We will all miss him terribly. Our thoughts are with the other families who have lost their family members due to this terrible attack.’
The Metropolitan Police confirmed they were working with New Orleans Police to repatriate his body.
President Joe Biden said Jabbar was ‘inspired by ISIS’ and had a ‘desire to kill,’ adding: ‘I know while this person committed a terrible assault on the city, the spirit of our New Orleans will never, never, never be defeated.’
Other victims include Nikyra Dedeaux, 18, who dreamt of becoming a nurse and recently graduated high school.
Father-of-two, Reggie Hunter, was also named as one of the victims in the ‘horrific’ incident, according to NOLA.
The 37-year-old decided to head to Bourbon Street on a whim on Tuesday to watch the festivities after finishing work.
Former football player Tiger Bech, 27, suffered catastrophic injuries during the attack and was later pronounced dead.
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Another victim has been named as 27-year-old Nicole Perez by ABC News.
Jabbar, who was born in Texas, was a lone wolf who did not act on orders of the terrorist group.
He served in the Army from March 2007 to July 2020, deploying to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010. He transferred to the army reserve in 2015 and left in 2020 with the rank of staff sergeant.
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