10 killed on Bourbon Street in New Orleans after suspect intentionally slams truck into crowd; dozens injured

A man intentionally drove a pickup truck into a crowd of revelers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter early on New Year’s Day, killing 10 people and injuring dozens of others, officials said. The FBI said the driver was killed in a firefight with police. 

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. 

The driver died after exchanging gunfire with responding police officers, the FBI said. The suspect was struck by police fire and declared dead at the scene, the New Orleans Police Department said. 

“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. A long gun was recovered from the scene, law enforcement sources told CBS News. 

Mayor LaToya Cantrell referred to it as a likely “terrorist attack,” and the FBI said in a news release that they are investigating it “as an act of terrorism.” 

Investigators are probing whether the suspect was connected to or inspired by a foreign terror organization, law enforcement and city official sources told CBS News. Potential explosive devices recovered at or near the scene are also being analyzed, the sources said. 

Louisiana Gov. 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. Weis saw multiple people on the ground being treated for injuries near the intersection of Bourbon and Canal Streets.

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 the FBI will be leading the investigation. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Justice Department’s National Security Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana will work with the FBI and local officials to support the investigation, Attorney General Merrick Garland said. President Biden was briefed about the attack, the White House said, and his administration has been in touch with Cantrell to offer support. 

Biden said in a statement he has directed his administration 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.” 

“My heart goes out to the victims and their families who were simply trying to celebrate the holiday,” Biden said. “There is no justification for violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation’s communities.”

President-elect Donald Trump also acknowledged the attack in a post on TruthSocial. 

“Our hearts are with all of the innocent victims and their loved ones, including the brave officers of the New Orleans Police Department,” Trump said, in part. 

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 event, indicating that the game would go on as planned. 

Jeff Hundley, the Chief Executive Officer of the Sugar Bowl, said the he is “devastated by the terrible events from early this morning,” and said that event organizers are in ongoing discussions with authorities. 

Jim and Nicole Mowrer were in New Orleans visiting from Iowa and witnessed the incident. The couple 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,” followed by gunfire and police. The couple said the truck hit people about a block away from where they had been walking.  

“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,” Nicole Mowrer said. She said the couple found the victims had died. 

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.

In a 2017 memo reviewed by CBS News, the city of New Orleans had acknowledged the risk of a mass casualty incident in the crowded, tourist-friendly French Quarter. The memo specifically referenced vehicle attacks in Nice, France, London, England and New York City. To minimize risk, the city said it planned to establish a camera and surveillance program, a centralized command center, more police patrols and infrastructure upgrades. The city had been in the process of upgrading the pedestrian bollard system in the French Quarter to modernize and bolster protections, with work ongoing through February.