Families of New Orleans victims seek answers to deadly New Year’s attack

Matthew Tenedorio, an audio-visual technician at New Orleans’ Caesars’ Superdome, was among the other victims of the early-morning attack on January 1.

Tenedorio, who turned 25 in October, had spent the early part of the evening at his brother’s house in Slidell, about 35 minutes from New Orleans.

With him were his father and mother – recently recovered from cancer.

His cousin Christina Bounds told the BBC that her family “begged” him not to go to New Orleans, fearing large crowds and potential dangers.

Despite their pleas, he left with his two friends. His mother finally caught one of them when the news got out.

“They said they went down Bourbon and saw a body fall,” he said, noting that they now believe it was a body thrown into the air by the attacker’s truck.

Amid screams and gunfire, Tenedorio was separated from his friends.

His family says he was shot, and they believe he was killed during a shootout between an assailant and police officers on Bourbon Street.

The BBC cannot independently confirm this claim.

According to Ms Bounds, the family’s tragedy was made all the more painful by the slow, almost non-existent communications they had with local authorities.

“When my aunt (Tenedorio’s mother, Cathy) arrived at the hospital, we couldn’t get any information,” she said. “No word from doctors, hospitals or the police. No one.”

“They have zero information and that’s the part that makes everybody nervous. We don’t even know what’s going on,” Bounds added. “Was he taken away by the SMM? Was he in an ambulance? Did he die instantly?”

Those answers, he added, would “help people accept” what happened.

“But now it’s like a complete shock,” he said. “Not registering.”

The family started a GoFundMe page to raise funds for Tenedorio’s funeral expenses – which Ms Bounds said were made difficult by her mother’s significant medical bills when she was diagnosed with cancer.

Another of Tenedorio’s cousins, Zach Colgan, remembers him as a “goofball” who was quick to joke, deeply interested in animals and an enthusiastic storyteller.

Mr Colgan told the BBC: “He was caring. He was definitely a people person. He was a happy boy.” “It’s sad that a terrorist attack took him… no family should have to bury their son, especially for something so trivial.”

Mr. Colgan, who has experience working with law enforcement in Louisiana, says he believes the officers did the best they could in an extremely stressful situation.

“I know it’s chaotic. But part of the closure is getting answers. I know my aunt and uncle didn’t get much other than ‘yes – Matthew was killed,'” she said.

“It would be nice to know a bit more,” added Mr Colgan. “If I had a child, I would like to know.”

While his family continues to seek answers, Mr Colgan says he hopes the government and public focus will continue to focus on the victims, rather than on the response of law enforcement or what else could have been done to prevent the attack.

“I want each of them to be remembered. “They didn’t deserve it. Nobody deserves it.”