A driver suspected to be a terrorist has crashed his truck into a crowd at high speed in New Orleans’ French Quarter in the wee hours of New Year’s Day and then opened fire, killing at least 10 people and injuring more than 35, city officials and police said.
“This man was trying to run over as many people as he could,” Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick said at a televised press conference on Wednesday.
“He was hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did.”
The incident at 3:15 a.m. on January 1, 2025, occurred at the intersection of Canal and Bourbon Streets during New Year’s celebrations, the city said in a statement.
Bourbon Street is a historic tourist destination in the city’s French Quarter, known for attracting large crowds with its music and bars.
Kirkpatrick said the driver fired at police and struck two police officers from the vehicle after it crashed.
“The officers are in stable condition” she added.
She said more than 300 officers were on duty at the time of the incident. The city hosts the Sugar Bowl, a classic American college football game, each New Year’s Day.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell called the event a “terrorist attack” but an FBI official, Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, said: “This is not a terrorist event.”
Duncan said a suspected improvised explosive device was found and the FBI was working to determine if it was viable.
A verified video taken by an onlooker shows at least two twisted bodies in the street, with one of them lying in what appears to be a puddle of blood.
A bystander is seen kneeling over one of the bodies as a group of uniformed military personnel in green uniforms and carrying firearms runs past.
“A horrific act of violence took place on Bourbon Street earlier this morning,” Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said on X, urging people to stay away from the area where the attack took place.
The injured were taken to at least five different hospitals, according to NOLA Ready, the city’s emergency preparedness department.
President Joe Biden’s White House said it had been in touch with the mayor to offer support.
New Orleans has experienced shootings and cars colliding with crowds at past parades.
