BATON ROUGE, Jan 1 — A driver crashed his truck into a crowd at high speed in New Orleans' French Quarter in the wee hours of New Year's Day then opened fire, killing at least 10 people and injuring more than 35, city officials and police said.
"This man was trying to run over as many people as he could. He was hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did," Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick said at a televised press conference on Wednesday.
The 3.15am incident occurred at the intersection of Canal and Bourbon Streets during New Year's celebrations, the city said in a statement. Bourbon Street is a historic tourist destination in the city's French Quarter, known for attracting large crowds with its music and bars.
She said the driver fired at police and struck two police officers from the vehicle after it crashed. The officers are in stable condition.
Over 300 officers were on duty at the time of the incident. The city hosts the Sugar Bowl, a classic American college football game, each New Year's Day.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell called the event a "terrorist attack" but was contradicted by an FBI official.
FBI assistant special agent in charge of its New Orleans field office Alethea Duncan said: "This is not a terrorist event."
She said a suspected improvised explosive device was found and the FBI was working to determine if it was viable.
A verified video taken by an onlooker shows at least two twisted bodies in the street, with one of them lying in what appears to be a puddle of blood. A bystander is seen kneeling over one of the bodies as a group of uniformed military personnel in green uniforms and carrying firearms runs past.
"A horrific act of violence took place on Bourbon Street earlier this morning," Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said on X (formerly Twitter), urging people to stay away from the area where the attack took place.
The injured were taken to at least five different hospitals, according to NOLA Ready, the city's emergency preparedness department.
President Joe Biden's White House said it had been in touch with the mayor to offer support.
A couple told CBS News that they heard crashing noises coming from down the street and then saw a white truck slam through a barricade "at a high rate of speed".
New Orleans has experienced shootings and cars colliding with crowds at past parades.
In November last year, two people were killed and 10 injured in two separate shootings along a New Orleans parade route and celebration attended by thousands, local media reported.
In February 2017, a man who police said appeared to be highly intoxicated ploughed a pickup truck into a crowd of spectators watching the main Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, injuring more than 20 people.
— Reuters
