NEW ORLEANS — The suspect who drove a vehicle at high speed into a crowd of revelers in New Orleans on New Year’s Day was killed after a firefight with police, law enforcement officials told the AP.
The officials were not authorized to discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.
Ten people were killed and 30 were injured after the suspect rammed a vehicle at high speed into a crowd of pedestrians in New Orleans’ bustling French Quarter district at 3:15 a.m. Wednesday along Bourbon Street.
The area is known worldwide as one of the largest destinations for New Year’s Eve parties, and with crowds in the city ballooning in anticipation for the Sugar Bowl college football playoff game at the nearby Superdome later in the day.
The FBI said in a statement that it was heading an investigation “with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism.” At a news conference, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell described the killings as a “terrorist attack” and the city’s police chief said the act was clearly intentional.
Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, said officials were investigating the discovery of at least one suspected improvised explosive device at the scene.
Whit Davis, 22, told CNN he was leaving a nightclub at the time of the attack.
“Everyone started yelling and screaming and running to the back, and then we basically went into lockdown for a little bit and then it calmed down but they wouldn’t let us leave,” Davis said.
“When they finally let us out of the club, police waved us where to walk and were telling us to get out of the area fast. I saw a few dead bodies they couldn’t even cover up and tons of people receiving first aid.”
Police Commissioner Anne Kirkpatrick said police officers would work to ensure safety at the Sugar Bowl, indicating that the game would go on as scheduled.
She said the suspect was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did.”
“It was very intentional behavior. This man was trying to run over as many people as he could,” Kirkpatrick said.
Two police officers who were shot after the driver emerged from the truck are in stable condition, she said.
Officials did not immediately provide an update on the status of the driver, whether there was an ongoing threat to the public or offer a suspected motive in the fatal incident.
NOLA Ready, the city’s emergency preparedness department, said the injured had been taken to five local hospitals.
The White House said President Joe Biden has been briefed. Attorney General Merrick Garland was also briefed on the attack, the Justice Department said.