At least 10 killed on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street after person drives a car into crowd.
“This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could,” said Anne Kirkpatrick, superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department. “It was not a DUI situation.”
Police said the suspect intentionally plowed his vehicle into a large group of revelers on Bourbon Street about 3:15 a.m. in what the FBI is investigating as an act of terrorism.
The suspect drove around barricades erected to stop traffic entering Bourbon Street, due to his “intentional mindset,” Kirkpatrick said, adding he was “hellbent on creating carnage.”
The City of New Orleans confirmed the casualty figures in a statement on its website and said people were hurt in a “mass casualty incident involving a vehicle that drove into a large crowd on Canal and Bourbon Street.”
Authorities are also investigating multiple suspected improvised explosive devices linked to the attack — the FBI said it was not known if they are viable explosives but urged the public to avoid the area.
A federal law enforcement official has told NBC News that the suspect is believed to be dead.
According to a White House official, President Biden has been briefed on the attack.
“We do know that the city of New Orleans was impacted by a terrorist attack,” Mayor LaToya Cantrell said at a news conference, adding that she was in touch with the White House.
The dozens injured were being treated in local hospitals, as were the two injured officers, who were in a stable condition, she said.
Kirkpatrick said it was unclear how many victims were locals, but said that according to preliminary information “it seems the majority are locals versus tourists.”
Contrary to the mayor’s use of the term, FBI special agent Alethea Duncan, who is taking over the investigation, said “this is not a terrorist event.” The federal law enforcement official later said that the incident was being investigated as a potential terrorist act and the special agent was just being cautious.
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.
