An armed man drove a speeding truck into a New Year’s Eve celebration on Bourbon Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter early Wednesday, killing at least 10 and injuring more than 30 before being shot and killed by police in what the FBI is calling a terrorist assault. “We are working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism,” the FBI said in a late-morning statement.
The pick-up truck crashed into the crowd at high speed around 3:15 a.m. and within moments the driver started firing on police officers from inside the vehicle, New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said at an early morning news conference. Two officers were shot and are now being treated in stable condition.
Police confirmed with USA TODAY that the driver was fatally shot by police. “Perpetrator was shot by NOPD officers and killed,” said Karen Boudrie, public relations specialist with New Orleans police.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell told reporters that the driver was on a mission to kill as many people as possible. “He was hell bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did . . . This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could. It was not a DUI situation,” Cantrell said.