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In his final moments, Matthew Tenedorio did something that came naturally to him — he moved toward danger to help others.
The 25-year-old Long Island native — an audiovisual technician at the Superdome set to work at the Sugar Bowl later that night — was walking with two friends in New Orleans’ French Quarter early New Year’s Day when chaos erupted at the intersection of Canal and Bourbon streets.
“They saw a body flying through the air right in front of them — above his head,” Christina Bounds told Greater Long Island, speaking of her younger cousin, who is 6-foot-2. “And then there was mass chaos and screaming, and they started running.”
With his long strides, Tenedorio was ahead of his friends, Bounds said, when his pals were knocked down by police officers in pursuit of the driver of a pickup truck that had plowed at a high speed into a crowd.
“Matthew kept walking toward the commotion, probably thinking he could help,” she said.
Moments later, gunfire erupted between police and the driver of a truck that authorities said had intentionally plowed into a crowd at a high speed, and Tenedorio was struck.
“The truck stopped and the guy got out and started shooting. And we don’t know if he had a gunshot wound from the perpetrator or from the police officers,” said Bounds, who had spent the holidays with her immediate visiting relatives, including Tenedorio, in the New Orleans area.
“We got home on New Year’s Eve,” Bounds said of her family’s 16-hour drive from Louisana. “We went to sleep, and woke up to this.”
Tenedorio, who spent his early years living in Huntington with his parents and two older brothers, was among 15 victims killed in the terror attack that occurred about 3:15 a.m. at the intersection of Canal and Bourbon streets.
Parents begged him not to go
On New Year’s Eve, he had dinner with his parents, Louis and Cathy, at his older brother’s house about a half-hour away from downtown New Orleans.
“They begged him not to go,” Bounds said of Tenedorio’s parents, who were concerned about crime in the city. “But he didn’t listen.”
Tenedorio and his friends were about to stop in at “one last bar,” Bounds said, when the truck attack happened.
The FBI identified the attacker as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar of Texas. Reports have said he was a U.S. Army veteran who was carrying an Islamic State flag on his truck. The FBI is investigating the incident as an act of terrorism.
Bounds explained that her aunt, Cathy Tenedorio, has been informed by authorities that she will not be able to view her son’s body for another two weeks.
Long Island roots, Louisiana life
Born at NYU Langone Hospital – Long Island in Mineola (which was then known as Winthrop Hospital), Tenedorio until he was 4 years old lived in Huntington, where his two older brothers attended Woodhull Intermediate and Jefferson Primary schools. His family then relocated to Louisiana to be closer to his maternal grandparents, part of a larger family migration that began when his grandfather accepted a position with AT&T.
Tenedorio’s father, Louis, worked for 18 years as an electrical technician at NBC’s Rockefeller Center studios, spearheading production teams on such high-profile shows as “Saturday Night Live.” Now employed at the Superdome, Louis Tenedorio watched his son follow in his footsteps as an AV technician at the same venue.
“He loved his job,” Bounds said of her cousin. “He was so excited about working the upcoming events.”
Those events included the upcoming Sugar Bowl between Georgia and Notre Dame, originally scheduled for the night of New Year’s Day but postponed until Jan. 2 due to the attack. The Superdome is also set to host Super Bowl LIX next month.
He was a ‘bright light’
Bounds recalled her cousin’s love of skateboarding and how he would grow out his hair just so he could donate it to Locks of Love for children who have lost their hair due to a medical condition.
“He was a bright light. He was really kind, always smiling — literally lighting up the room,” Bounds said. “He gave everybody these huge hugs. He was just a special guy. He loved to have a good time and make people laugh.”
Hoping to provide a dignified farewell
Bounds noted that because Tenedorio’s family was already still reeling financially due to his mother’s recent bout with cancer, she established a GoFundMe to help his family cover his funeral expenses and allow them to provide Tenedorio “with the dignified farewell he deserves.” The effort has raised nearly $30,000.
‘His smile would light up a room’
Top photo: Matthew Tenedorio with his cousin, Christine Bounds (Courtesy photo).
