10 killed as man 'hell-bent on creating carnage' drives into New Orleans crowd

Alexis Stevens, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Jan 1, 2025

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Investigators believe a driver intentionally drove around police barricades and struck several people early Wednesday on a crowded street in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

The unidentified man was then killed in a shootout with officers, according to the Associated Press and local media reports.

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.

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.”

Kirkpatrick said every officer in the department was called in to assist with the investigation, and that increased security measures were already in place.

The city’s mayor LaToya Cantrell called the event a terrorist attack, but an FBI assistant 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.

Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in the FBI’s New Orleans office, said at least one suspected improvised explosive device was found at the scene.

Officials urged everyone to stay away from the area while the investigation continued Wednesday.

President Joe Biden was updated on the incident, investigators said. And Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry called the incident a “horrific act of violence” in a social media post.

Other Sugar Bowl events are expected to be held as planned.

Mark Konter, a diehard Georgia fan from Savannah, was staying with his wife and two young sons in a nearby hotel in the French Quarter. He woke up to police swarming the area, examining parked cars near Bourbon Street.

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(Staff writer Greg Bluestein continued to this article.)