Emergency services did not specify the time of the incident, but the area was expected to be crowded with people celebrating New Year’s Eve in the historic and festive area known as the French Quarter.
CBS News cites witnesses who say a truck drove into the crowd at “high speed” before its driver jumped out and began firing a gun, prompting a police response.
The driver “was fiercely determined to cause carnage,” police official Anne Kirkpatrick told the press. At least ten people were killed, according to emergency services.
“The city of New Orleans has been hit by a terrorist attack,” New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell told reporters. “The investigation continues.”
The governor of the state of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, in a message on X, speaks of a “horrific act of violence”. He called for prayers for the victims and the rescuers on site.
