10 dead, dozens injured after vehicle drives into crowd in New Orleans
At least 10 people are dead and 30 more injured after a vehicle struck a crowd on a popular nightlife street in New Orleans overnight, according to local officials.
The vehicle plowed into New Orleans’s famed Canal and Bourbon streets in the city’s French Quarter neighborhood, causing what officials called a “mass casualty incident” in the early hours of New Year’s Day.
Those injured were taken to five hospitals, according to NOLA Ready, the city’s emergency preparedness agency.
Several witnesses told CBS News that a white truck crashed into the crowd at a high speed, before the driver got out and began firing a weapon. Police returned fire, according to CBS, which cited eyewitness accounts.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell (D) said the city “was impacted by a terrorist attack,” though she noted the incident is still under investigation.
The FBI, which is leading the investigation, said in a statement that the assailant is dead after engaging with local law enforcement and that the agency is investigating the attack as an act of terrorism.
President Biden has been briefed on the matter and will continue to be briefed throughout the day, the White House said Wednesday.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland called the incident a “terrible tragedy.”
“My heart is broken for those who began their year by learning people they love were killed in this horrific attack,” Garland said, “and my prayers are with the dozens who were injured, including the New Orleans Police Department Officers who risked their lives to save others.”
In addition to the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Justice Department (DOJ)’s National Security Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana are working with local law enforcement to investigate.
The DOJ said it would “deploy every available resource” to conduct the probe.
Louisiana officials mourned the victims in statements online.
Gov. Jeff Landry (R) called the incident a “horrific act of violence” and offered prayers to the victims and first responders at the scene. The state’s attorney general, Liz Murrill (R), lamented the “brutal intentional slaughter of innocent people” celebrating the New Year in New Orleans and urged people to avoid the immediate area.
In a statement following the attack, President-elect Trump decried America’s crime rate and blamed Democrats and the media for refuting his claims that “the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country.” Law enforcement have not yet released any details about the assailant, such as his citizenship status.
“Our hearts are with all of the innocent victims and their loved ones, including the brave officers of the New Orleans Police Department,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “The Trump Administration will fully support the City of New Orleans as they investigate and recover from this act of pure evil!”
Bourbon Street is well known for its nightlife, and the city had prepared for large crowds celebrating New Year’s. The city also expected an influx of visitors for the College Football Playoff Sugar Bowl between Georgia and Notre Dame at the Caesars Superdome, scheduled for Wednesday.
The Hill requested comment from the New Orleans Police Department.
Updated at 11:17 a.m. EST
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