A man with close ties to the British royal family has been identified as one of the 15 victims killed in the New Orleans attack on Jan. 1.
Edward Pettifer, the stepson of Prince William and Prince Harry’s former nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke, died from “blunt force injuries” after Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, drove a truck into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street, the Metropolitan Police confirmed in a news release.
The 31-year-old, who lived in Chelsea, West London, had been visiting Louisiana with a friend, UK newspapers The Times and The Sun reported.
Legge-Bourke, 59, married Edward’s father, former Coldstream Guards officer Charles Pettifer, in 1999. She worked as a nanny for William, 41, and Harry, 40, shortly after King Charles and Princess Diana’s separation in 1993 to 1999.
PEOPLE understands that King Charles is upset by the tragedy and has expressed condolences to the family.
Legge-Bourke was close with William and Harry as their nanny and remains so years later. The brothers attended her wedding and she attended theirs in 2011, and 2018 respectively. She is also godmother to Harry and Meghan Markle’s son Prince Archie.
Prince William shared a statement on his Instagram Stories, saying: “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 FBI announced the death toll in the deadly New Orleans attack at 15 people as of Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 1.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Edward’s family said in a statement shared by police, “The entire family is devastated at the tragic news of Edward‘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,” they added. “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.”
Authorities confirmed that Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Texas, plowed a Ford pickup truck through Bourbon Street at around 3:15 a.m. local time in initial reports.
The New Orleans Police Department previously confirmed that Jabbar died in a shootout with police at the scene.
The FBI said they are “working to determine the subject’s potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations,” per a news release.
Read the full article here