Ten people were killed and dozens injured early Wednesday when a man intentionally drove a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter as revelers were celebrating the new year, officials said. New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said the man drove around barricades and hurtled down Bourbon Street in “very intentional behavior” before opening fire on officers.
Two sources told CBS News the driver was dead though it wasn’t immediately clear how he died.
“This man was trying to run over as many people as he could,” said Kirkpatrick, adding that two police officers were hit by gunfire but were in a stable condition.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell referred to it as a likely “terrorist attack,” but Assistant Special Agent Alethea Duncan with New Orleans FBI, who spoke along with the other officials Wednesday morning, did not characterize it that way.
Gerald Herbert/AP
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry called it “a horrific act of violence” and said he and his wife were “praying for all the victims and first responders on scene.” He urged people to avoid the area.
The popular tourist district was full of New Year’s Day revelers at the time of the apparent attack.
“He was hellbent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did,” Kirkpatrick said.
Witnesses told CBS News reporter Kati Weis that a white truck crashed into people on Bourbon Street at high speed, and the driver then started firing a weapon from inside the vehicle, with police returning fire.
The City of New Orleans said in a statement posted online that 30 people were transported to area hospitals with injuries and 10 people were confirmed dead. Kirkpatrick later said that at least 35 people were hospitalized.
Duncan said that possible improvised explosives were also found nearby, but said it was unclear if they were related. No other information was given.
Duncan said the FBI will be leading the investigation. President Biden was briefed about the attack, the White House said, and his administration has been in touch with Cantrell to offer support.
Weis saw multiple people on the ground being treated for injuries near the intersection of Bourbon and Canal Streets.
Jim and Nicole Mowrer were in New Orleans visiting from Iowa and witnessed the incident. Nicole told CBS News they had watched the city’s fireworks display and were enjoying the New Year’s Day atmosphere in the French Quarter when they heard crashing noises coming from down the street. They said they then saw a white truck slam through a barricade “at a high rate of speed.”
The Mowrers said they heard gunshots after the crashing noises and went to try to help people they found wounded, but realized the victims had died.
“We were pretty, pretty close to where it started,” she said, estimating that the truck hit people only about a block away from where they had been walking.
CBS News/Kati Weis
“Once it was past us, we did hear gunfire, saw police running that direction,” Nicole said. “Once the gunfire stopped, we stayed in the alcove until the gunfire stopped, came out into the street, and came across a lot of — several people who had been hit, [we] wanted to see what we could do to help.”
The Mowrers said the victims they saw had injuries from the truck impact, and they did not see any apparent gunshot wounds. They said they left the area once emergency responders started arriving.
The Sugar Bowl college football playoff game is scheduled to be played at the nearby Superdome later in the day. Kirkpatrick said police officers would work to ensure safety at the Sugar Bowl, indicating that the game would go on as planned.
