The city’s emergency agency said ten people died and 30 were injured when a driver ran a truck through a crowd celebrating the New Year.
ADVERTISEMENTThe suspect who drove a car through a crowd in New Orleans has reportedly been killed following a firefight with police, law enforcement officials told Associated Press.
The officials were not authorised to discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
A driver in a pickup truck who was “hellbent on creating carnage” killed ten people and injured 30 more as he drove through a crowd in New Orleans early Wednesday morning, according to the police.
Reports say that after he ploughed his car through the crowd, the suspect then fired at police officers from his vehicle, injuring two of them.
“He was hell bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did,” Police Commissioner Anne Kirkpatrick said.
New Orleans Mayor described the incident as a “terrorist” attack which was later contradicted by the FBI, who said the incident was “not a terrorist event” although added officers were looking into a possible explosive device found at the scene.
The attack occurred in the early hours of Wednesday morning along Bourbon Street in New Orleans — a world famous destination for New Year’s Eve parties.
The area was particularly busy as crowds gathered to watch the Sugar Bowl college football playoff game at the nearby Superdome later in the day.
Officials did not immediately provide an update on the status of the driver, whether there was an ongoing threat to the public or offer a suspected motive in the fatal incident.
NOLA Ready, the city’s emergency preparedness department, said the injured had been taken to five local hospitals and a police officer was among them.
This is a developing story and our journalists are working on further updates.
