University of Georgia student Elle Eisele was critically injured in the New Year’s Day terror attack in New Orleans. Her friend, Steele Idelson, was also hurt.
Days after the chaos, they were reunited in the hospital.
“So happy my best friend is alive and by my side,” Eisele wrote on Instagram on Sunday along with a heart emoji.
Photos she posted on social media showed them holding hands from hospital beds that had been pushed together. Their families worked with hospital staff to arrange the visit, news station NBC 2 Fort Myers reported.
The 19-year-old students attended and graduated in 2023 from the Canterbury School in Fort Myers, Florida. On Jan. 1 they were among the dozens of people injured when an attacker intentionally rammed a truck into a crowd of pedestrians in the city’s French Quarter district.
“The Eisele and Idelson families are deeply grateful for the outpouring of thoughts, prayers and offers of support for our daughters following the tragic attack in New Orleans,” their high school alma mater, the Canterbury School, said in a statement. “We are especially thankful for the exceptional care and compassion they are receiving at University Medical Center.”
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will travel to New Orleans on Monday to meet with the families of those affected.
“With more gratitude than you can fathom, I wanted to let my friends and family know that I am fighting and I am healing,” Eisele said in an earlier social media post, numerous media outlets reported. “Most importantly, I am alive, and I am so thankful that God spared Steele and myself. I’m reading your messages, and I’m thankful for your support and love and one day soon, I’ll be replying to you! Please keep praying for all of us survivors.”
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Eisele is a sophomore at UGA, pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in chemistry, according to the registrar’s office. UGA President Jere W. Morehead said he had spoken to her family after the incident. Idelson is a student at San Diego State University.
“We also extend our heartfelt gratitude to the first responders, whose swift actions may have saved our daughters’ lives,” the Canterbury School said. “To everyone who has reached out with love and support, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a U.S. citizen from Texas with a military background and ties to metro Atlanta, died during a shootout with police after the attack. Officials said he was carrying an ISIS flag when he drove a rented Ford pickup through a crowd of people on Bourbon Street. Jabbar had shared videos on Facebook hours before the attack previewing the violence and expressing allegiance to the Islamic State, The Associated Press reported.
Jabbar earned a degree from Georgia State University and lived in Cobb and DeKalb counties years ago. Cobb police reports from 2015 and 2016 show instances of alleged domestic violence between Jabbar and his wife at the time. Cobb police had no record of arresting or charging Jabbar.
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