A man drove a pick-up into the crowd on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday 1is January in the French Quarter of New Orleans, before opening fire on the police. At least ten people were killed and 35 injured, authorities said.
LaToya Cantrell, the city's mayor, said it was a “terrorist attack”while New Orleans police chief Anne Kirkpatrick ruled out the hypothesis of a drunk driver. According to the latter, the investigation was entrusted to the FBI, of which a representative present at the press briefing did not immediately confirm the terrorist trail. Since then, the American federal police have clarified in a press release that they are handling the case “with other police services as an act of terrorism”. The FBI also confirmed the death of the suspect, without specifying whether he was one of the ten people announced as killed.
The driver tried “to crush as many people as he could” et “was fiercely determined to cause carnage”underlined the New Orleans police chief beforehand. “The perpetrator shot at our officers from his vehicle when it was in an accident. Two of them were hit. Their condition is stable”added Anne Kirkpatrick. Alethea Duncan, a member of the local FBI office, reported the discovery on site of what could be an improvised explosive device, adding that checks were underway.
The vehicle drove into the crowd at “high speed”
The facts occurred around 3:15 a.m. (10:15 a.m. in Paris) in a crowded area in the middle of New Year's celebrations, between Canal Street and Bourbon Street, an area renowned for its restaurants, bars, jazz clubs and places frequented by the LGBTQ+ community.
According to witnesses cited by CBS News, the vehicle drove into the crowd at “high speed” before its driver got out and opened fire. “Once he passed us, we heard gunshots, we saw police running in that direction. Once the gunfire stopped (…)we went out into the streets and we met a lot of people who had been affected, we wanted to see what we could do to help them”said one of them.
The White House said President Joe Biden had been briefed “horrible news” and that he had expressed his support for the city's mayor. Later, Mr. Biden said that the United States would not “will tolerate no attack” against their inhabitants: “Nothing justifies violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attacks against the people of our country. » For his part, President-elect Donald Trump has linked illegal immigration to the attack.
Jeff Landry, the governor of Louisiana, denounced “an atrocious act of violence” and announced that the families of the victims could go to a medical center designated as a rallying point to be informed as quickly as possible.
The Memorable World
Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde”
Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde”
Discover
New Orleans is one of the most visited destinations in the United States and the incident occurred shortly before a major American football game, the Sugar Bowl, between the teams of the universities of Georgia and Notre. -Lady.
According to the municipality, the police force had been reinforced for the New Year. Local law enforcement said they were “completely” and supported by 300 additional agents “from law enforcement partner agencies”particularly on horseback and as part of unmarked patrols.
