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 van drove into the crowd, trying to “run over as many people as he could,” a police official in the American city, Anne Kirkpatrick, told the press.
“He was fiercely determined to cause carnage,” she insisted.
At least 10 people were killed and 35 were injured, according to the municipal management in charge of emergencies, in a press release.
“This man, the perpetrator, shot at our agents from his vehicle when he crashed. Two of them were hit. Their condition is stable,” said Anne Kirkpatrick.
A possible homemade explosive device was also found on site. “We are trying to confirm whether or not this is an active, functioning device,” said Alethea Duncan of the FBI.
The attack took place in the middle of the night, around 3:15 a.m., in a crowded area where people were celebrating New Year’s Eve, between Canal and Bourbon Street, in the historic and festive neighborhood known as the “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 saying a vehicle drove into the crowd at “high speed” before its driver jumped out and began firing a gun, prompting a police response.
Crowds in the streets
A white truck crossed 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,” Ms. Mowrer said.
“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 “full strength, assisted by 300 additional officers from partner law enforcement agencies”, including 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 going at full speed, leaving five people dead and more than 200 injured.
