A driver in a pickup truck who officials said was “hell-bent on carnage” sped through a crowd of pedestrians in New Orleans’ bustling French Quarter district, killing 10 and injuring 30 in an act being investigated as a New Year’s Day terrorist attack.
The attack occurred around 3:15 a.m. Wednesday along Bourbon Street, with crowds in the city ballooning in anticipation for the Sugar Bowl — a quarterfinal contest scheduled for tonight.
“He was hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did,” said Police Commissioner Anne Kirkpatrick. She said police officers would work to ensure safety at the Sugar Bowl, indicating that the game would go on as scheduled.
“It was very intentional behavior. This man was trying to run over as many people as he could,” Kirkpatrick said.
The FBI said in a statement that it was heading an investigation “with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism.” At a news conference, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell described the killings at Bourbon and Canal streets as a “terrorist attack.”
The FBI said the driver is dead, NBC reports. The suspect was killed after a firefight with police, law enforcement officials told The Associated Press.
Kickoff at the Sugar Bowl is set for 7:45 p.m. local time at the nearby Superdome, in a game between Georgia and Notre Dame as part of the newly-expanded College Football Playoff.
Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, said officials were investigating the discovery of at least one suspected improvised explosive device at the scene.
A man who witnessed the carnage on Bourbon Street after a driver plowed into pedestrians described a harrowing scene, with bodies left “horribly disfigured” lying on the street.
“It was unbelievable,” Jimmy Cothran told NBC News in a phone interview this morning as he described scenes that could only be compared to “a movie.”
Cothran said he was walking from Bourbon Street toward Canal Street when he noticed a “lot of commotion” and ducked off into a nightclub. Suddenly, he said, a group of women ran inside, pushing back security and hiding under tables.
“We live here and unfortunately, our first thoughts were somebody’s shooting or chasing them,” he said. Cothran said he ran upstairs, knowing the club had a balcony, only to witness a horrific scene, with the bodies of victims laying on the ground.
“Two looked to be at least alive. I wouldn’t say survivable but at least alive,” he said.
Others appeared to be “graphically deceased,” with one having tire tracks visible on his body. “It just kept going,” he said. “Like, every eye shot, body, body, body, body.”
NOLA Ready, the city’s emergency preparedness department, said the injured had been taken to five local hospitals. Two police officers who were shot after the driver emerged from the truck are in stable condition, Kirkpatrick said.
The White House said President Joe Biden has been briefed.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry called the incident a “horrific act of violence” in a post on X and said he was praying for the victims.
Officials said earlier that they expected the city to be busy as locals and visitors rang in the new year. New Orleans Police Department said it would be staffed at 100% and would draft in another 300 officers to help keep the peace.
