Ex-college football player and aspiring nurse among New Orleans attack victims

A well-known American college football player, a young aspiring nurse and a mother of a four-year-old are among the victims of the New Year’s day attack in New Orleans in which at least 15 people were killed.

Their names are being released by families and relatives before authorities complete post-mortem examinations.

Here’s what we know so far.

Martin “Tiger” Bech is a former football player at Princeton University.

His death was confirmed in a statement by the university.

“There was no more appropriate nickname of a Princeton player I coached,” Princeton football coach Bob Surace said in a statement.

“He was a ‘Tiger’ in every way – a ferocious competitor with endless energy, a beloved teammate and a caring friend.”

Martin Bech’s brother, Jack Bech, posted a tribute on X alongside a news article reporting his death.

“Love you always brother!” he wrote. “You inspired me everyday now you get to be with me in every moment. I got this family T, don’t worry. This is for us.”

Mr Bech was a member of the 2016 and 2018 Ivy League Championship teams.

The 18-year-old was an aspiring nurse.

Her death was confirmed by her mother, Melissa Dedeaux, on social media.

“I lost my baby just pray for me and my family pleaseeeeee!!! God I need you now!!,” the mother pleaded, along with a photograph of her daughter wearing a red graduation cap and gown from this year.

Ms Dedeaux – who is also a nurse – told local media outlet Nola that her daughter had been due to start her nurse training later this month.

She added that Nikyra had snuck out with a cousin and friend, who both survived.

Nikyra’s school friend, Dante Reed, told the New York Times he had received a frantic call from her cousin, saying they had run when they heard gunshots, and that she – Nikyra – was missing.

Her grandmother, Jennifer Smith, told the paper “she was a joy for the little time we had her.”

“I’m very proud of all of my grandchildren, and that one especially.”

The death of the store manager and father of two was confirmed to CBS News, the BBC News’ US partner, by his cousin Shirell Robinson Jackson.

Ms Jackson described him as “full of life”, and said the 37-year-old had messaged the family minutes after midnight to wish them a Happy New Near.

He was with another cousin who was injured in the attack.

Mr Hunter’s younger sister, Courtney Hunter, told the NY Times her brother loved to be around the family and was competitive when it came to playing games.

Kimberly Usher Fall, Ms Perez’s friend and boss at the deli store she managed, called her a dedicated, smart and a “good-hearted person”, according to CBS.

“She was beautiful and full of life,” she wrote on an online fundraiser she set up for her friend.

The 27-year-old was also a mother to a four-year-old boy.

Ms Usher Fall said Ms Perez used to bring her son into work on his days off from school.

She used to teach him mathematics and the alphabet in the deli’s storage room in between work, Ms Usher Fall told The Washington Post newspaper.

“She really was a good kid, man, she really was,” she said, adding “she was just getting everything going, and she’s gone, just gone.”

The 25-year-old audio-visual technician had a “laid-back spirit and infectious laughter” that brought joy to those around him, according to a fundraiser his family set up in his name.

His mother Cathy Tenedorio, told US broadcaster NBC News, she last saw her son alive at 21:00 local time on New Year’s Eve, adding she remembered hugging and kissing him.