A terrorist who killed at least 10 people and injured 30 others after plowing a vehicle into a crowd celebrating New Year on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street has been killed, sources say.
The driver rammed into the large group at high speed, then got out and started firing a weapon, witnesses said. Investigators later added that they found what appeared to be improvised explosives at the crash site that did not detonate.
A shootout between police and the suspect ensued, and two officers were shot by the suspect and are in stable condition.
Police sources later told the New York Times that the suspect was deceased following the shootout. No information about the suspect’s identity has been released.
Witnesses claim the suspect was ‘wearing full body armor’ and ‘armed with an assault rifle’, and officials said he was ‘trying to run over as many people as he possibly could’.
Videos circulating on social media showed a chaotic scene at the tourist hotspot as people ran from the casualty-strewn area while bullets rang out in the background.
Dozens of police officers have responded to what authorities have declared a ‘mass casualty event’ and a portion of the road has been cordoned off. Paramedics, ambulances and vehicles from the coroner’s office were also seen at the scene.
Ambulances have transported the wounded to five area hospitals, the city added, and the FBI have taken over the ongoing investigation.
At least 10 people are dead and 30 left injured after a driver rammed into the large group at high speed, then got out and started firing a weapon
Videos circulating on social media that appear to have been recorded at the scene shows multiple casualties on the ground as shots ring out in the background. People were also seen running from the area
The horror unfolded at around 3:15am local time Wednesday when the vehicle, which appeared to be a Ford SUV (pictured), plowed into the crowd
Dozens of police officers have responded to what authorities have declared a ‘mass casualty event’ and a portion of the road has been cordoned off
The horror unfolded at around 3:15am local time Wednesday when the vehicle, which appeared to be a Ford SUV, plowed into the crowd at the intersection of Bourbon Street and Canal Street.
Surveillance footage captured the moment police stationed on the street for the New Year’s celebrations were urgently called to the scene, as around a dozen officers sprang into action and raced through crowds to respond.
A man, who claimed to witness the incident while out with his wife, wrote on X that he saw the SUV ‘speeding’ down the road and ‘running people over’.
Another alleged witness told WLWT that she saw the vehicle strike the crowd and multiple officers open fire at the suspect. She says she started running and only escaped ‘by the grace of god’.
Kevin Garcia, 22, said the car was ‘slamming into everyone on the left side of Bourbon sidewalk’. He heard gunshots ring out and claims a ‘body came flying at me’, CNN reported.
Whit Davis, a 22-year-old witness from Shreveport, Louisiana, said he was in a nightclub when the attack unfolded. He recalled how people ‘started running and hiding under tables’ in a scene that resembled ‘an active shooter drill’.
Police then held him and a group of partygoers in the bar, Davis told BBC, noting that when they were finally allowed to leave the establishment that they ‘were walking past dead and injured bodies all over the street’.
At a press conference, New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell described the incident as a ‘terrorist attack’, which prompted the FBI to say shortly later that the bureau was not treating it as a terrorist attack.
Police sources said the gunman was killed in a shootout with cops that left two officers hospitalized in stable condition
Witnesses have said they ‘were walking past dead and injured bodies all over the street’
Victims, emergency responders and eyewitnesses are seen on Bourbon Street early Wednesday morning after a vehicle plowed into a large crowd
Bourbon Street, famous for its many bars and clubs, has reportedly been shut down while investigators work the scene. People are advised to stay away from the area.
‘The 8th District is currently working a mass casualty incident involving a vehicle that drove into a large crowd on Canal and Bourbon Street,’ NOLA Ready, the city’s official disaster preparedness agency, said in a statement.
‘There are 30 injured patients that have been transported by NOEMS (New Orleans Emergency Medical Services) and 10 fatalities. Public safety partners are responding on scene. Updates will follow as they are received.’
The incident came toward the end of New Year’s celebrations in New Orleans and hours before the kickoff of the AllState Bowl, a college football quarterfinal held in the city’s Caesars Superdome, with thousands expected to be in attendance.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry has condemned the ‘horrific’ attack and said he is ‘praying for all the victims and first responders on scene’.
Bourbon Street, famous for its many bars and clubs, has been shut down while investigators work the scene
‘A horrific act of violence took place on Bourbon Street earlier this morning,’ Landry tweeted. ‘Please join Sharon and I in praying for all the victims and first responders on scene. I urge all near the scene to avoid the area.’
The White House said Wednesday morning that President Biden has been briefed on the attack, and said he ‘has been in touch with New Orleans Mayor Cantrell to offer support.’
‘The FBI is already on the ground supporting local law enforcement in the investigation and the President will continue to be briefed throughout the day,’ the White House said in a statement.
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