Driver kills 10 ramming truck into New Orleans crowd in New Year attack By Reuters

Written by Brian Thevenot

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) – A pickup truck driver drove his pickup truck into a New Year’s Eve crowd in New Orleans’ French Quarter and opened fire, killing 10 people and wounding more than 35 others in an early morning attack that the FBI said was a possible act. Terrorism.

Law enforcement officials said the suspect died after an exchange of gunfire with police.

“This man was trying to run over as many people as possible,” Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick said in a televised news conference on Wednesday. “He was intent on creating the carnage and the damage he did.”

The city said in a statement that the accident occurred at 3:15 a.m. at the intersection of Canal and Bourbon Streets during New Year’s celebrations. Bourbon Street is a historic tourist destination in the city’s French Quarter, known for attracting large crowds with its music and bars.

The driver, who swerved around the barriers, fired at police and struck two police officers from the vehicle after it crashed, Kirkpatrick said. She added that the officers are in stable condition.

“We know the perpetrator was murdered,” New Orleans City Councilman Oliver Thomas said. “As we search for motive, remember that there is no meaning to evil.”

There was no immediate news about the identity of the driver.

Police said more than 300 officers were on duty at the time of the incident. The city hosts the Sugar Bowl, a classic American college football game, every New Year’s Day, and will also be the site of the NFL Super Bowl on February 9.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell described the incident as a “terrorist attack.”

“This is not a terrorist event,” said Alethea Duncan, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office. The FBI later said in a statement, “We are working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism.”

Duncan said a suspected improvised explosive device has been found and the FBI is working to determine if it is viable.

“Horrible work”

Verified video captured by a bystander shows at least two twisted bodies in the street, one lying in what appears to be a pool of blood. A passerby was seen kneeling over one of the bodies while a group of soldiers wearing green uniforms and carrying firearms passed by.

“A horrific act of violence occurred on Bourbon Street earlier this morning,” Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry told Channel X, urging people to stay away from the area where the attack occurred.

The injured were taken to at least five hospitals, according to the city’s emergency preparedness department, NOLA Ready.

The White House said in a statement that President Joe Biden was briefed on the attack and contacted the city’s mayor to offer full federal support.

A couple told CBS News they heard crashing noises coming from down the street and then saw a white truck plow through a barricade “at high speed.”

Louisiana’s U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy told CNN that despite the attack, New Orleans law enforcement was ready for the Sugar Bowl on Wednesday night. “The Superdome has been closed,” he said.

Last month, a 50-year-old man was charged in Germany with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder after police said he plowed his car into crowds at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, killing five people and wounding dozens.

New Orleans has seen shootings and cars crashing into crowds in previous marches.

In November 2024, two people were killed and 10 others were injured in two separate shooting incidents along a New Orleans parade route and celebration attended by thousands, local media reported.

In February 2017, a man who police said appeared very intoxicated drove a pickup truck into a crowd of spectators watching New Orleans’ main Mardi Gras parade, injuring more than 20 people.