At least 10 people were killed and 30 injured when a truck drove into a large crowd in New Orleans’ French Quarter early on Wednesday, a city government agency said.
Intentional Attack
Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick said at a televised news conference a driver intentionally drove into a crowd at around 3:15 a.m. “This man was trying to run over as many people as he could,” Kirkpatrick said. “He was hell-bent on creating the carnage and damage that he did.”
Kirkpatrick said the driver fired at police and struck two police officers after his vehicle crashed. She said more than 300 officers were on duty at the time of the incident. She said the FBI will be taking over the investigation.
Earlier CBS News, citing witnesses, reported that a truck had crashed into the crowd at high speed, and then the driver got out and started firing a weapon, with police returning fire.
“Initial reports show a car may have plowed into a group of people. Injuries are unknown but there are reported fatalities,” New Orleans Police Department spokesperson told CBS News.
New Year’s Eve
The police department did not immediately respond to a Reuters‘ request for comment.
“A horrific act of violence took place on Bourbon Street earlier this morning,” the governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, said on X, urging people to stay away from the area where the attack took place.
The injured have been taken to at least five different hospitals, according to NOLA Ready, the city’s emergency preparedness department.
The incident occurred at the intersection of Canal and Bourbon Streets during New Year’s Eve celebrations, the New York Times reported.
Past Parades
A couple told CBS News that they heard crashing noises coming from down the street and saw a white truck slam through a barricade “at a high rate of speed”.
New Orleans has seen shootings and cars colliding with crowds at past parades.
In November 2024, two people were killed and 10 others injured in two separate shootings along a New Orleans parade route and celebration attended by thousands, local media reported.
In February 2017, a pickup truck driven by a man who police said appeared to be highly intoxicated plowed into a crowd of spectators watching the main Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, injuring more than 20 people.
(with inputs from Reuters)
