(Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS — At least 10 people were killed and 35 injured early Wednesday after a pickup truck tore through Bourbon Street where crowds were celebrating the arrival of the New Year.
The driver of the truck was killed after a shootout with police in which two officers were wounded, New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said.
“It was very intentional behavior,” Kirkpatrick said. “This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could. It was not a DUI situation.”
The police officers who were shot were taken to University Medical Center and were in stable condition, according to the police chief. She said the same facility is also treating 26 of the injured people, and others have been taken to other local hospitals.
At around 3:15 a.m., the driver of the truck steered around a police barricade at Canal Street meant to keep vehicles off of Bourbon Street and sped into a crowd, Kirkpatrick said. It appears the truck was able to travel three blocks before colliding with a lift vehicle near Conti Street.
“He was hellbent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did,” the police said.
Steel bollards that rise from the street were installed along and near Bourbon Street in 2017 to protect pedestrians, but they are in the process of being replaced according to the city’s Department of Public Works website.
The FBI is leading the investigation and looking into what they believe to be improvised explosive devices (IEDs), Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan said. The federal agency is investigating the incident as a possible act of terrorism.
Bomb squad personnel were seen entering the French Quarter, which is being scoured for additional explosive devices, WVUE reported. Several small booms have been heard blocks away, which City Council members said were controlled detonations to clear possible IEDs.
U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, who represents a large portion of New Orleans, said in a statement that he has been in touch with U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Majorkas. The congressman told WVUE it is believed the driver of the truck, which has Texas license plates, lived in the New Orleans area and acted alone, citing information he received Wednesday morning.
An eight-block stretch of Bourbon Street remains closed to traffic, and some hotels in the French Quarter have been evacuated as a precautionary measure. The public is being asked to avoid a large portion of the historic neighborhood, which typically sees crowds larger than typical weekends for New Year’s Eve.
Hospitality and service industry employees reporting for work Wednesday morning were being turned away from cordoned-off areas.
New Orleans is hosting fans of the University of Georgia and Notre Dame for the Sugar Bowl, scheduled for Wednesday night at the Superdome. Representatives with the event have said they are speaking with local, state and federal authorities to keep apprised of developments.
The city will also host Super Bowl LIX in early February.
Cantrell said she has contacted Gov. Jeff Landry and the White House to inform them about the incident.
“A horrific act of violence took place on Bourbon Street earlier this morning,” Landry posted on X. “Please join Sharon and I in praying for all the victims and first responders on scene.”
President-elect Donald Trump called the incident “pure evil” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
The NOPD is asking anyone trying to connect with family who they believe were in the area to call 311, and not 911, for more information.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
#BREAKING
NEW YEAR’S TRAGEDY ON BOURBON ST:
Driver drove into the crowd along the street and gun fire erupted around 3 a.m.
— Andrés Fuentes (@news_fuentes) January 1, 2025
Statement from the FBI on the situation in New Orleans. pic.twitter.com/B3TskTJyUc
— FBI (@FBI) January 1, 2025
A horrific act of violence took place on Bourbon Street earlier this morning.
Please join Sharon and I in praying for all the victims and first responders on scene.
I urge all near the scene to avoid the area.
— Governor Jeff Landry (@LAGovJeffLandry) January 1, 2025
This article was first published by the Louisiana Illuminator, part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.