[Mis à jour le 01/01 à 18h15]
New Year's Eve turned into a nightmare in a tourist area of New Orleans. At least 10 people were killed and 35 injured by a vehicle that drove into a crowd, the authorities of the American city announced on Wednesday, during which two police officers were also injured by bullets. 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. The latter is dead, according to the latest information across the Atlantic.
« He was fiercely determined to cause carnage », insisted the police officer.
After local police initially ruled out terrorism, the FBI said on its X account that it was treating the attack as a “terrorist act”.
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 as saying a vehicle drove into the crowd at ” high speed » before its driver jumped out and started firing a gun, prompting a police response.
Large crowds in the streets
« 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 “, declared a witness to the accident, Nicole Mowrer.
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.
Trump links illegal immigration to attack
American investigators also found a possible homemade explosive device at the scene of the attack, the FBI federal police said.
« We are attempting to confirm whether or not this is an active and functioning device. “, declared Alethea Duncan of the FBI during a press briefing in the large city in the southeast of the United States.
President Joe Biden, who leaves office on January 20, is being kept informed of the situation, the White House said, calling it an attack “ horrible ». « Nothing justifies violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attacks against the people of our country », Said the American president in a press release.
For his part, the American president-elect, Donald Trump, established a link between illegal immigration and the car-ramming attack. “ When I say that the criminals that are coming are far worse than the criminals that we have in our country, this statement has been repeatedly refuted by the Democrats and the Fake News Media, but it has been proven to be true », Reacted the Republican on his Truth Social network.
This attack recalls that of 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 launched at all speed, leaving five dead and more than 200 injured.
