Distraught mom shares eerie premonition she had before daughter was murdered in Nola terror attack
A grieving mom who lost her daughter in the New Orleans terror attack has revealed how she begged her not to go out in the Big Easy on New Year's Eve.
Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux, 18, was among the 14 people murdered when a car plowed into crowds in the city's French Quarter in the early hours of Wednesday.
The high school graduate had snuck out from her Lyman home along with her cousin and their friend Zion Parsons, 18, to attend the festivities.
Her mom Melissa Dedeaux, 40, told how she pleaded with her daughter not to go.
'When your parents say don’t go anywhere please listen to them,' the stricken parent wrote
'This was an act of terrorism and now my baby is gone y’all.. my baby is gone she is no longer with us.
'I lost my baby just pray for me and my family pleaseeeeee!!! God I need you now!!'
She described her daughter as a bright, aspiring nurse who 'never got into trouble'.
Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux, 18, was among 14 people killed in the NOLA terrorist attack
Melissa Dedeaux, 40, told how she pleaded with her daughter not to go out in New Orleans for New Year's Eve
Dedeaux was killed after Shamsud Din Jabbar, 42, plowed a car into crowds of revelers on Bourbon Street. Thirteen other victims were murdered,, with Jabbar shot dead during a subsequent gunfight with cops.
Parsons managed to duck into a brick doorway and escaped impact, but sadly the same could not be said for Dedeaux.
After fleeing the scene Parsons told NOLA he later returned to try and search for his friend and to make a heartbreaking call to Dedeaux's mom.
He told her that he had last seen her daughter laying on the ground with hers eyes closed.
'Did they cover her up with a sheet, Zion?' Melissa asked.
'Yeah,' Parsons replied. 'What does that mean?', the line then went quiet before the grieving mom began to cry.
He later learned that Dedeaux's cousin survived without injury.
'It's different from the movies. It's real people,' he said. 'People don't talk about what that does to your brain.'
Dedeaux was a bright aspiring nurse who 'never got into trouble' according to her mom
Zion Parsons, 18, had to Dedeaux's mom and tell her she didn't survive the NOLA terrorist attack
US Army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, was responsible for the attack, police said
He described the harrowing scenes immediately after Jabbar went barreling into the crowds just after 3am on New Year's Day.
'Bodies, bodies all up and down the street, everybody screaming and hollering,' he said.
'People crying on the floor, like brain matter all over the ground. It was just insane, like the closest thing to a war zone that I've ever seen.'
Parsons was heading out of Voodoo Chicken & Daquiris on Bourbon near Bienville Street at the time.
After avoiding the impact, he said he looked back and saw Dedeaux lying on the ground with her leg twisted above her head.
He began running and later returned, but was ordered to leave Dedeaux in the street.
Parsons said he began calling local hospitals in the hopes that she had been wounded, but could not get any information.
A further 30 people were hurt during the attack which took place in the early hours of Wednesday
His worst fears were all-but confirmed when he checked the location tracker on her phone showed it was still on Bourbon Street.
'If I was a little bit quicker, I could've stopped it,' Parsons said. 'I haven't had the time to cry. It's just so crazy.'
US Army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, was responsible for the attack, police said. He was killed during a shootout with the cops shortly after.
