At least 10 people were killed and 30 or more injured when a truck intentionally drove into a large crowd on Canal and Bourbon Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter at a high speed early on Wednesday, city officials said.
The incident occurred at the intersection of Canal and Bourbon Streets during New Year’s Eve celebrations, the city said in a statement.
Bourbon Street is a historic tourist destination in the city’s French Quarter, known for attracting large crowds with its music and bars.
Investigators have found a suspected improvised explosive device at the scene, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said on Wednesday.
“We are working on confirming if this is a viable device or not,” Special Agent Alethea Duncan told a news conference after the attack.
Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick said at a televised news conference a driver intentionally drove into a crowd at around 3:15 am.
“This man was trying to run over as many people as he could,” Kirkpatrick said.
“He was hell-bent on creating the carnage and damage that he did,” she added.
Kirkpatrick said the driver fired at police and struck two police officers after his vehicle crashed.
She said there were more than 300 officers that were on duty at the time of the incident and that the FBI will be taking over the investigation.
“A horrific act of violence took place on Bourbon Street earlier this morning,” the governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, said on X, urging people to stay away from the area where the attack took place.
The injured have been taken to at least five different hospitals, according to NOLA Ready, the city’s emergency preparedness department.
