Investigators believe a driver intentionally struck several people early Wednesday on a crowded street in the French Quarter of New Orleans.
Ten people were killed and at least 30 injured in the incident, which happened shortly after 3 a.m. while revelers will still celebrating the New Year. In addition to local and state police, the FBI was investigating the incident, officials said shortly before 8 a.m.
During a press conference outside a precinct, New Orleans police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said it did not appear to be a DUI incident.
“It did involve a man driving a pickup truck down Bourbon Street at a very fast pace, and it was very intentional behavior,” Kirkpatrick said. “This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could.”
The man exchanged gunfire with officers, striking two who were in stable condition, police said. No details were released about whether the suspect was in custody.
Those injured were taken to several local hospitals and their conditions were not immediately known. Kirkpatrick said the majority of the victims were local residents, rather than tourists in town for the holiday or Wednesday night’s Sugar Bowl between the University of Georgia and Notre Dame.
“Last night, we had over 300 officers out here, and because of the intentional mindset of this perpetrator – who went around our barricades in order to conduct this,” Kirkpatrick said. “He was hell bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did.”
The city’s mayor LaToya Cantrell called the event a terrorist attack, but an FBI special agent said that was not yet known and remains under investigation.
“We do know that the city of New Orleans was impacted by a terrorist attack,” Cantrell said.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry called the incident a “horrific act of violence” in a social media post.
Investigators planned to hold another press conference at 11 a.m. to provide updated details.
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