Two Canterbury School graduates were critically injured in the New Orleans terrorist attack.
Elle Eisele and Steele Idelson ― both 19 and who graduated from the Fort Myers school in 2023 ― were among the more than 30 people injured early Wednesday when a man plowed a pickup through a crowded Bourbon Street.
Fifteen other people died in what authorities are calling a terror attack.
Canterbury School released the following statement Wednesday night.
“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,” it said.
“We are especially thankful for the exceptional care and compassion they are receiving at University Medical Center. We also extend our heartfelt gratitude to the first responders, whose swift actions may have saved our daughters’ lives. To everyone who has reached out with love and support, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
Eisele is a student at the University of Georgia and Idelson attends San Diego State University.
A 2023 photo on Eisele’s Instagram shows the two friends on the beach about the time of their graduation. The photo is one of a several showing Eisele and Idelson, including pics of them at prom, their graduation, tailgating and chilling on the beach.
Georgia was scheduled to play Notre Dame on Wednesday night in the Sugar Bowl at the Caesars Superdome but the game was postponed to Thursday night.
News-Press files show that Eisele was on the soccer and cross-country teams at Canterbury. Her mom, Melissa Johnson Eisele, owned a Mellow Mushroom until last year while her father, Jason Eisele, is a Southwest Florida veterinarian.
Elle Eisele of Canterbury and Jules Taglieri of Bishop Verot fight to get to the ball on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021, at Canterbury in Fort Myers.
UGA president: Student ‘critically’ injured in New Orleans terrorist attack
U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds on social media said the attack “never should have happened.”
“The safety and security of the American people must be our top priority,” the Naples Republican said on Instagram.
Dave Osborn is the regional features editor of the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach him at dosborn@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: 2 Fort Myers women among injured in New Orleans terrorist attack
