Brother of Former Football Player Who Died in Bourbon Street Attack Says Driver 'Had Evil in His Eyes'

Family members of former Princeton football player Martin “Tiger” Bech, who was killed in the New Orleans attack on New Year’s Day, opened up about their loss the day after his death.

Bech’s father Martin and his brother, TCU football star Jack, spoke about the tragic incident that claimed the lives of at least 15 people and injured dozens of others when deceased suspect Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove through a crowd on Bourbon Street.

“I think you just have to learn to forgive, you know. Forgiving and forgetting are two completely different things,” Jack, 22, told NBC News when asked what he wanted the public to know about how he feels about the loss of his older brother.

“This man had evil in his eyes. He was going to commit this act whether it was car bombs, he was going to get out of his car with an AR or whatever it may be. I don’t know, it’s just super hard like I said. You have to be able to forgive, you know that’s what God says is the most important thing,” Jack told NBC News about suspect Jabbar.

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Martin said that he had dinner with Tiger and a friend just before the attack. Recalling the final moments he had with his son, he said the two embraced and, “I told him I love him, and he hugged me back and said ‘I love you, Dad.’ ”

Although Tiger, 28, sadly succumbed to his injuries from the attack, his father Martin praised the medical team that attempted to save his son’s life. 

“The job the team at Ochsner Hospital did was, I’ve never seen that before. It was stupendous. They did everything they could do to save him. They worked on him with a team of no less than 20 people. It was extraordinary,” he said.

Jack confirmed Tiger’s death on X (formerly known as Twitter) just hours after the attack, writing “Love you always brother. You inspired me (every day) now you get to be with me in every moment. I got this family T, don’t worry. This is for us.”

Tiger’s mother, Michelle Bech, told ABC News on Thursday, Jan. 2 that her son was in Louisiana to hunt and fish with college friends for the weekend and was set to fly back to New York City on the afternoon of Wednesday, Jan. 1. 

Tiger, an All-Ivy League performer, played for Princeton for three seasons from 2016-18. After he graduated, he left behind his football career to work as a trader at Seaport Global, an N.Y.C. capital markets firm, his mother told ABC News. 

The New Orleans attack, considered an act of terrorism by the FBI, occurred at 3:15 a.m. local time on Jan. 1, when the deceased subject — identified as Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen from Texas — drove through the crowd on Bourbon Street in a pickup truck.

“At approximately 3:15 a.m. CST, an individual drove a pickup truck into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street in New Orleans,” the FBI said in a statement. “After hitting the crowd, he exited the vehicle and fired upon local law enforcement. Law enforcement returned fire, and the subject was pronounced deceased at the scene.”

The FBI also confirmed an apparent ISIS flag in the Ford pickup truck used in the attack.