A pickup truck driver plowed into a crowd in New Orleans’ French Quarter early New Year’s Day in what the mayor called a terrorist attack that killed at least 15 people and injured dozens of others.
The driver then engaged in a shootout with police that wounded two officers, authorities said. The driver, who was not identified, was killed in an exchange of gunfire with officers.
The FBI said in a statement that it was investigating the incident as an act of terrorism. Improvised explosive devices were found at the scene.
At about 3:15 a.m. Wednesday, the pickup driver sped down Bourbon Street at “a very fast pace, and it was very intentional behavior,” said New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick. The driver was “hell-bent” to run over as many people as he could.
The city’s emergency preparedness website lists the scene of the attack on Canal and Bourbon streets.
Reports said the vehicle had Texas plates and crossed the southern border through Eagle Pass two days earlier. It was unclear whether the attacker was a U.S. citizen.
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Police officers confronted the driver, and a shootout ensued. Chief Kirkpatrick said two officers were wounded and the driver was killed.
“He fired on our officers from his vehicle when he crashed his vehicle. Two of our officers have been shot. They are stable, and we will give you an update on them,” the police chief said.
Alethea Duncan, New Orleans FBI assistant special agent in charge, said investigators were trying to determine whether the improvised explosive devices were viable.
Kevin Garcia, 22, told CNN that he saw a truck slamming into people on a sidewalk and heard gunshots.
“A body came flying at me,” he said.
President Biden said in a statement that he had been briefed by federal law enforcement officials, his homeland security team and the mayor of New Orleans about “the horrific incident that occurred there overnight.”
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“I am grateful for the brave and swift response of local law enforcement in preventing even greater death and injury,” Mr. Biden said. “I have directed my team to ensure every resource is available as federal, state, and local law enforcement work assiduously to get to the bottom of what happened as quickly as possible and to ensure that there is no remaining threat of any kind.”
He added, “My heart goes out to the victims and their families who were simply trying to celebrate the holiday. There is no justification for violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation’s communities.”
City and state officials urged the public to stay away from the area.
“A horrific act of violence took place on Bourbon Street earlier this morning,” Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said on social media. “I urge all near the scene to avoid the area.”
President-elect Donald Trump weighed in with a post on Truth Social: “When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats and the Fake News Media, but it turned out to be true.”
He said the U.S. crime rate is at an unprecedented level.
“Our hearts are with all of the innocent victims and their loved ones, including the brave officers of the New Orleans Police Department,” Mr. Trump posted. “The Trump Administration will fully support the City of New Orleans as they investigate and recover from this act of pure evil!”
Hours after the attack, three coroner’s office vans were parked at the corner of Bourbon and Canal streets, cordoned off by police tape.
Crowds were growing Wednesday in anticipation of the evening’s Sugar Bowl at the nearby Caesars Superdome. The stadium was locked down, and the college football playoff game between Georgia and Notre Dame was rescheduled for kickoff at 4 p.m. ET Thursday.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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