10 dead, 35 injured in vehicle-ramming attack on New Orleans NYE celebration, police say

Emergency services on the scene Wednesday where authorities say a driver steered into a crowd in New Orleans. 

Ten people were killed and at least 35 more were injured after a driver plowed into a crowd in the heart of New Orleans and then started shooting, authorities said.

The deadly incident is now being investigated as a potential terrorist attack, President Joe Biden later said.

Superintendent Anne E. Kirkpatrick of the New Orleans Police Department said during a press conference that a man drove a pickup truck down Bourbon Street “at a very fast pace.” Kirkpatrick said the man drove into the crowd intentionally.

She characterized the incident, which took place at about 3:15 a.m., as an attack and said the driver had tried to hit as many people as possible, driving around barriers that she said were meant to block off streets.

She also said the driver shot two police officers, who she said were in stable condition.

Kirkpatrick said it appeared that most of those injured were locals rather than tourists.

An unnamed federal law-enforcement official told CNN that the suspect had also died. It was unclear when and how.

Biden later posted a statement that the “FBI is taking the lead in the investigation and is investigating this incident as an act of terrorism.”

NOLA Ready, the city’s emergency preparedness campaign, had initially said there was “a mass casualty incident involving a vehicle that drove into a large crowd on Canal and Bourbon Street.”

Emergency services on Bourbon Street on Wednesday. 

Kevin Garcia, a 22-year-old who was present at the time, told CNN, “All I seen was a truck slamming into everyone on the left side of Bourbon sidewalk.”

He said that “a body came flying at me,” and that he heard gunshots.

One witness told CBS that a driver plowed into the crowd on Bourbon Street at high speed and that the driver got out and started firing a weapon, with the police firing back.

Kirkpatrick said the FBI was taking over the case.

Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana said on X on Wednesday that a “horrific act of violence took place on Bourbon Street earlier this morning.”

“Please join Sharon and I in praying for all the victims and first responders on scene,” he wrote, referring to his wife. “I urge all near the scene to avoid the area.”

Authorities said an improvised explosive device was found and they were working to confirm whether it was a viable device.

Bourbon Street, in the city’s French Quarter, is a famous party destination.

Some streets in and around the French Quarter were due to be closed for New Year’s celebrations, with Canal Street expected to stay open unless traffic got too bad, the local outlet Fox 8 WVUE-TV reported.

New Orleans is due to host the Sugar Bowl, a college football game, on Wednesday, with fans of the University of Georgia and the University of Notre Dame descending on the city.

Kirkpatrick said at the press conference that the city had “called in every officer that we have.”

She said she still wanted people to enjoy the celebrations but to stay away from Bourbon Street.

The New Orleans Police Department on Monday had said that it would be staffed at 100% for both celebrations and that 300 additional officers would be joining from other law-enforcement agencies.

“Residents and visitors can expect to see a strong presence of marked and unmarked police vehicles, as well as officers on foot, bike, and horseback as part of the department’s Mounted Patrol,” Kirkpatrick said at the time.

“This increased visibility will enhance public safety, provide crowd control, and allow for rapid response to any incidents,” she added.