LAFAYETTE PARISH — A Lafayette man is remembering his brother who was killed in the New Orleans terrorist attack. Cecil Wilkinson, says his brother- Elliot Wilkinson, 40, died from injuries related to the attack.
Elliot, was among those killed when a truck driven by Shamsud-Din Jabbar, an Army veteran from Texas, rammed into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street on New Year's day.
"He'll give the shirt off his back even though he didn't have the shirt to give," Cecil recalled. "He was a good person, he would look out for everybody that he could."
Cecil says his brother was in the process of rebuilding his life after being released from prison in August. He said Elliot struggled with mental illness and was recently bouncing between life on the streets and shelters.
"I called every hospital about a month ago because I couldn’t find him," Cecil remembered.
Cecil says his brother stayed away from family in hopes of improving his life on his own.
"He said he didn’t want to be a burden on anybody, but I didn’t want him to go live on the streets in New Orleans," Cecil said.
Cecil says that while Elliot faced many personal battles, he was always loved by his family, even when his illness made him feel otherwise.
"He was loved, even though at times he felt like he wasn't because of his mental illness," Cecil said.
As the family prepares for the mourning process, Cecil says his brother's death is a devastating blow.
