University of Alabama student killed in New Orleans terror attack laid to rest in somber service attended by frat brothers

BATON ROUGE, La. — Kareem Badawi, the University of Alabama student killed in the New Orleans terrorist attack, was laid to rest Friday as his father heartbreakingly recalled how excited his son was to celebrate New Year’s Eve in the Big Easy with his pals.

Hundreds of mourners, including several of Badawi’s classmates and fraternity brothers, attended the burial service at a maqbara near the 18-year-old’s Baton Rouge home.

Following the somber service, Kareem’s father, Belal Badawi, stopped to speak to The Post about his beloved son’s senseless death.

The grief-stricken dad said his son traveled more than an hour away from home to New Orleans to ring in the new year with 15 friends in the city renowned for its nightlife.

“He thought it’s a big city and New Orleans would have parties …  He thought it would be a good idea, and there would be a bigger party than Baton Rouge,” Belal recalled.

“The next day was the Sugar Bowl and he loves sports so he thought New Orleans was the place to be for New Year’s Eve. The New Year’s Eve is not what he expected or planned for and unfortunately he got killed.”

The father also revealed the heartbreaking final text messages he exchanged with Kareem.

“From New Orleans, he sent me a Happy New Year text at midnight,” Belal told The Post.

“I texted him ‘Happy New Year – dad.’ That was the last message between me and him. Like three hours later he got killed.”

Imam Emad Nofal, chairman of the Islamic Center Baton Rogue, addressed the congregation and denounced the terror attack in which 13 other people were killed by Shamsud-Din Jabbar.

“We are people of peace. I don’t care who has done this. He’s a terrorist and he’s a person who does not belong to Islam, does not understand Islam. Has nothing to do with us,” Emad Nofal said.

“As you can see, we are the victims here,” he reflected.

Belal didn’t learn about the Bourbon Street attack until he turned on the news the morning after wishing his son a Happy New Year’s.

Kareem’s concerned parents tracked his cell phone and saw that the phone’s location was Canal and Bourbon Street.

They then got some information from Kareem’s five friends who were all staying at an apartment near Bourbon Street.

“After midnight, around 2 a.m., they all went home. Around 2:45 a.m., Kareem and Parker decided to go one more time outside. The other three decided to stay,” Belal told The Post.

Parker was also injured in the rampage and is currently in the hospital.

“As a matter of fact, I heard when he heard Kareem passed away he freaked out and some of the stitches came out because he got so crazy,” Belal said.

Belal lamented that his son, who “just loved life” and “touched so many people’s lives” was killed in a heartless act done in the name of religion.

Kareem attended the University of Alabama on an engineering scholarship and was a member of the fraternity Sigma Chi.

Several of his classmates and fraternity brothers attended the funeral in Baton Rouge.

“They came from Alabama today just to say goodbye. That tells you how lovely and how nice he was. As a family we are going to miss him a lot,” Belal said.

“He spent all his life loving people and socializing with friends and all that. He’s a lovely boy.” the grieving father said.

“Killing innocent people is not going to get you anywhere. What message are you going to deliver? Those innocent people have not harmed anybody. They went there to party and celebrate the New Year and he just comes and kills all of them,” he said of the terrorist.

Family friends told The Post they remain in shock and are struggling to come to grips with the tragic event.

“It’s so much of a tragedy,” said 62-year-old Kamal Alabasha, Belal’s best friend.

“This kid got snatched by evil, and he claims to be a human being but he’s not,” he said in reference to the terrorist.