The suspect who drove his car at high speed into a crowd of revelers in New Orleans on New Year’s Day died after a gunfight with police, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.
The officials were not authorized to discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
At 3:15 a.m. Wednesday, a suspect plowed his vehicle into a crowd of pedestrians at high speed along Bourbon Street in New Orleans’ busy French Quarter, killing 10 people and injuring 30 others.
The area is known worldwide as one of the biggest destinations for New Year’s Eve parties, in anticipation of the Sugar Bowl College Football Playoff game at the nearby Superdome later that day. Crowds in the city swell.
The FBI said in a statement that it is working “with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism.” At a news conference, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell described the killing as a “terrorist attack” and the city’s police chief said the act was clearly intentional.
Alecia Duncan, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, said authorities were investigating the discovery of at least one suspected improvised explosive device at the scene.
Whit Davis, 22 years old; told CNN He had just left a nightclub at the time of the attack.
“Everyone started screaming and screaming and running to the back. Then we basically went into lockdown for a little bit and then it calmed down and they wouldn’t let us leave,” Davis said. he said.
“When they finally let us out of the club, the police waved us where to walk and told us to get out of the place quickly. Several dead bodies that they couldn’t even hide. I saw many people receiving first aid.”
Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick said officers will work to ensure the Sugar Bowl is safe and indicated the game will go ahead as scheduled.
She said the suspect was “desperate to cause carnage and damage.”
“It was a very deliberate act. This guy was trying to run over as many people as possible,” Kirkpatrick said.
The two police officers who were shot after the driver got out of the truck are said to be in stable condition.
Authorities did not immediately provide an update on the driver’s condition, whether there was an ongoing threat to the public or whether a motive for the fatal crash was suspected.
The city’s emergency department, NOLA Ready, said the injured were taken to five local hospitals.
The White House announced that President Joe Biden had been briefed. Attorney General Merrick Garland was also briefed on the attack, the Justice Department said.
