At least 10 people were killed and 35 injured Wednesday, January 1, when a pickup truck plowed into a New Year’s crowd in the heart of the thriving New Orleans tourist district, authorities in the southern US city said.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell said it was a “terrorist attack,” but gave no more details. The driver tried to “run over as many people as he possibly could,” Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said. “He was hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did,” Kirkpatrick said, adding that the driver had fired on police officers, wounding two of them.
“This man, this perpetrator, he fired on our officers from his vehicle when he crashed his vehicle. Two of our officers have been shot. They are stable,” Kirkpatrick told a news conference after the attack that killed at least 10 people. CBS News television reported witnesses saying a truck rammed into the crowd before its driver jumped out and started exchanging gunshots with police.
Kirkpatrick said the truck had been driven at “very high speed” and in a “very intentional” manner. Operational command of the investigation will be taken by the FBI, she added. Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, said officials were investigating the discovery of at least one suspected improvised explosive device at the scene.
Police said the incident took place at approximately 3:15 am local time. At that hour, the area would been packed with revellers celebrating New Year in the French Quarter district, renowned for its bars, restaurants and jazz history. “The 8th District is currently working a mass casualty incident involving a vehicle that drove into a large crowd on Canal and Bourbon Street,” NOLA Ready, the New Orleans emergency preparedness program, said in a statement.
Officials did not immediately provide an update on the status of the driver, whether there was an ongoing threat to the public or offer a suspected motive.
New Orleans is one of the most heavily visited destinations in the United States and the incident came shortly before the city hosts a major football game, known as the Sugar Bowl, featuring teams from the University of Georgia and the University of Notre Dame.
Policing was heavy over the New Year’s, according to the city, as authorities braced for the crowds. The city police department had announced staffing at “100%, with an additional 300 officers assisting from partner law enforcement agencies,” including on horseback and using unmarked units.
This is a developing story.
