New Orleans Mayor Declares ‘Terrorist Attack’ on Bourbon Street After 10 are Killed, FBI Investigating

At least 10 people were killed and 30 more were injured after a man drove a pickup truck into crowds on Bourbon Street in New Orleans in the early hours of New Year’s Day, in what city officials called a deliberate attack.

The driver of the vehicle was killed in a firefight with police following the attack around 3:15 a.m. Wednesday along Bourbon Street in the city’s bustling French Quarter, the FBI said.

After the vehicle came to a stop, the driver emerged from the truck and open fire on responding officers, New Orleans police said. Officers returned fire, striking and killing the driver, police said.

Two officers were shot and are in stable condition, police said. They were among 35 people injured.

At a news conference, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell described the killings as a “terrorist attack” and the city’s police chief said the act was clearly intentional.

Police Commissioner Anne Kirkpatrick said the driver was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did.”

“It was very intentional behavior. This man was trying to run over as many people as he could,” Kirkpatrick said.

FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan said officials were investigating the at least one suspected improvised explosive device at the scene.

The area is known as one of the largest New Year’s Eve destinations.

Crowds in the city were ballooning in anticipation of Wednesday night’s Sugar Bowl college football playoff game at the nearby Superdome between Georgia and Notre Dame.

Kirkpatrick said police officers would work to ensure safety at the Sugar Bowl, indicating that the game would go on as scheduled.

Kevin Garcia, 22, told CNN that he saw a truck slamming into people on a sidewalk and heard gunshots.

“A body came flying at me,” he said.

Whit Davis told the network that he heard people yelling and running to the back as he was leaving a nightclub.

“When they finally let us out of the club, police waved us where to walk and were telling us to get out of the area fast. I saw a few dead bodies they couldn’t even cover up and tons of people receiving first aid,” said Davis, 22.

The injured were taken to five hospitals, the city’s emergency preparedness department said.

The White House said President Joe Biden had been briefed, and the Justice Department said Attorney General Merrick Garland was also briefed.

The attack is the latest example of a vehicle being used as a weapon to carry out mass violence, a trend that has alarmed law enforcement officials and that can be difficult to protect against.

via: AP

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