At least ten people were killed in a vehicle-ramming attack in a tourist area of New Orleans, targeting people celebrating the New Year, during which two police officers were also shot and injured.
The driver of a pickup drove into the crowd, trying to “to crush as many people as he could“, a police official from the American city, Anne Kirkpatrick, told the press.He was fiercely determined to cause carnage“, she insisted. At least ten people were killed and thirty-five injured, according to the municipal management in charge of emergencies, in a press release.
The attack took place in the middle of the night, around 3:15 a.m. (09:15 GMT), in a crowded area where people were celebrating the New Year, between Canal and Bourbon Street, in the historic and festive district, known as “French Quarter” (French Quarter).
Renowned for its restaurants, bars and jazz clubs, this district is also home to cabarets and places welcoming people from the LGBT community.
CBS News cited witnesses who say a vehicle drove into the crowd at “high speed” before its driver jumped out and began firing a weapon, prompting a police response. Two officers were shot and injured in the attack, police confirmed.
Crowds in the streets
A white truck went through a barricade”at high speed“Witnesses Jim and Nicole Mowrer told CBS.”Once he passed us we heard gunshots, we saw the police running in that direction“, said Ms. Mowrer.
“Once the gunshots stopped we stayed hidden until the gunshots stopped we went out into the street and we met a lot of people who had been hit we wanted to see what we could do to help them“, she added.
New Orleans is one of the most visited destinations in the United States and the incident occurred shortly before the city hosted a major American football game, the Sugar Bowl, between the teams of the University of Georgia and Notre Dame.
According to the municipality, the number of law enforcement officers had been increased during the New Year period, with the authorities preparing for a large crowd in the streets.
The city’s police department had announced numbers “in full force, aided by 300 additional officers from partner law enforcement agencies“, notably on horseback and patrolling in unmarked units.
On December 20 in Magdeburg (Germany), Taleb Jawad al-Abdulmohsen, a 50-year-old Saudi doctor who came to Germany in 2006, mowed down the crowd gathered at the Christmas market aboard a powerful BMW vehicle at full speed, causing five dead and more than 200 injured.
