Prince William expresses sadness over death of his former nanny's stepson in New Orleans attack

"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," the Prince and Princess of Wales wrote on X.

The Briton was identified by British police as 31-year-old man from Chelsea Edward Pettifer.

He is the stepson of Prince William and Prince Harry's former nanny Tiggy Pettifer.

According to reports, she cared for Prince William and Prince Harry in the 1990s.

Meanwhile, Metropolitan Police said its Counter Terrorism Policing, through officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, are supporting the family of the deceased British national.

Police said Family Liaison Officers are providing specialist support and will guide the family through the repatriation and coronial processes, working with a range of international and Government partners.

Edward Pettifer's death leaves family feels devastated

The family of Edward Pettifer have issued a statement where they said the death of the British national left them devastated:

“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," the statement said.

“We will all miss him terribly. Our thoughts are with the other families who have lost their family members due to this terrible attack. We request that we can grieve the loss of Ed as a family in private. Thank you," the family said in the statement.

New Orleans Attack

In a shocking development on the New Year's first day, a US Army veteran killed 14 people and left 30 others injured by ramming his truck on a crowd of revellers on the popular Bourbon Street.

The attacker was identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar.

42-year-old Jabbar, who pledged allegiance to the terror group Islamic State, was killed during a shootout with the police shortly after he attacked the revellers.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI] on Thursday said the US army veteran motivated by loyalty to the jihadist group Islamic State likely acted alone.

Even as initial concerns predicted that Shamsud-Din Jabbar had accomplices, believed to be on the run, preliminary investigations show he was alone, FBI deputy assistant director Christopher Raia earlier said.

"He was 100 percent inspired by ISIS," Raia was quoted as saying by the media.