Ten people were killed and at least 35 injured by a man who drove a pick-up truck into a crowd of New Year’s revellers in New Orleans.
The man exited his vehicle after crashing it into the crowd and opened fire, injuring several dozen, among them two police officers. The suspect was shot dead by police at the scene.
The incident took place at 3.15am on New Year’s Day in the city’s world-famous French Quarter at the intersection of Canal and Bourbon Streets. Police said the driver swerved around bollards in order to carry out the attack.
It occurred just hours before New Orleans was set to host a famous American football game, the so-called Sugar Bowl, a college quarter-final at the city’s Caesars Superdome.
The FBI said it was investigating the incident as an “act of terrorism”.
At a news conference, LaToya Cantrell, the New Orleans mayor, also described the killings as a “terrorist attack”.
Supt Anne Kirkpatrick, the city’s police chief, said: “It did involve a man driving a pickup truck down Bourbon Street at a very fast pace, and it was very intentional behaviour.
She continued: “This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could.”
Merrick Garland, the US attorney general, said: “My heart is broken for those who began their year by learning people they love were killed in this horrific attack.” He vowed to “deploy every available resource to conduct this investigation”.
The Department of Homeland Security is coordinating with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials in the wake of the incident and Joe Biden, the president, has also been briefed.
The suspect – whose identity has not yet been made public – was killed by police as he carried out the attack.
Reports suggest the individual was based locally and lived in a rental property in the St Roch neighbourhood, around two miles from the scene.
The news site Nola reported that dozens of people were evacuated from that area on Wednesday morning after a fire broke out an Airbnb that investigators believe is connected to the attacker.
In addition to the 10 fatalities, authorities said at least 35 people were injured and had been sent to five hospitals across the city – the University Medical Centre, Touro Hospital, East Jefferson General Hospital, Ochsner Medical Centre Jefferson Campus and Ochsner Baptist Campus.
There has been no immediate word on the condition of those injured.
