NEW ORLEANS - A driver crashed his pickup truck into a crowd celebrating New Year’s Day in New Orleans’ French Quarter and opened fire, killing 15 people and injuring more than 35, in an early morning attack the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said was a potential act of terrorism.
The suspect, described by one city leader as being in “full military gear“, died after a shootout with police, law enforcement officials said.
“This man was trying to run over as many people as he could,“ Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick said at a televised press conference on Jan 1. “He was hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did.”
The incident occurred at 3.15am (5.15pm in Singapore) at the intersection of Canal and Bourbon Streets, a historic tourist destination in the city’s French Quarter known for attracting large crowds with its music and bars.
Ms Kirkpatrick said the driver, who swerved around barricades, fired at police and struck two police officers from the vehicle after it crashed. The officers were in stable condition, she added.
“We know the perpetrator has been killed,” said New Orleans City Councilman Oliver Thomas. “As we search for a motive, remember there is no making sense of evil.”
There was no immediate word on the driver’s identity.
NBC News, citing three unnamed senior law enforcement sources, identified the suspect as Shamsud Din Jabbar, 42.
Nola.com, citing one unidentified law enforcement source, reported that same suspect was carrying an ISIS flag in the truck. Reuters was unable to verify the reports and the US Army did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
More than 300 officers were on duty at the time of the incident, police said. The city hosts the Sugar Bowl, a classic American college football game, each New Year’s Day, and will also be the site of the NFL Super Bowl on Feb 9.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell called the incident a “terrorist attack.”
The FBI said in a statement that it was investigating the incident as an act of terrorism. Initially, Ms Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, had said it was not a terrorist event.
Ms Duncan said a suspected improvised explosive device was found but provided no further details.
“From what I understand, there is a potential that other suspects could be involved in this, and all hands on deck on determining who these individuals are and finding them,” New Orleans City Council President Helena Moreno told 4WWLTV.
“Information that I received is that this individual was in full military gear, that he is apparently not local, and that he was prepared, and that he was very prepared to inflict horrific pain on the people on Bourbon Street,” Ms Moreno said.
Verified video taken by an onlooker shows at least two twisted bodies in the street, with one of them lying in what appears to be a puddle of blood. A bystander is seen kneeling over one of the bodies as a group of uniformed military personnel in green uniforms and carrying firearms runs past.
“A horrific act of violence took place on Bourbon Street earlier this morning,” Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said on X, urging people to stay away from the area where the attack took place.
The injured were taken to at least five hospitals, according to Nola Ready, the city’s emergency preparedness department.
A couple told CBS News that they heard crashing noises coming from down the street and then saw a white truck slam through a barricade “at a high rate of speed”.
Zion Parsons, 18, told Nola.com that he and his two friends were leaving a Bourbon Street eatery when they heard a commotion and saw a white car barreling toward them.
He said he dodged the vehicle, but one of his friends was struck, with her leg “twisted and contorted above and around her back.” “You can just look and see bodies, just bodies of people, just bleeding, broken bones,” he said.
Louisiana US Senator Bill Cassidy said on CNN that despite the attack, law enforcement in New Orleans was ready for the Sugar Bowl on Jan 1 night. “The Superdome has been locked down,” he said.
President Joe Biden called the city’s mayor to offer full federal support.
“I have directed my team 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,” Mr Biden said in a statement.
President-elect Donald Trump said in a statement that his incoming administration would “fully support the City of New Orleans as they investigate and recover from this act of pure evil!”
New Orleans was in the process of removing and replacing the steel barriers known as bollards that restrict vehicle traffic in the Bourbon Street pedestrian zone, but it was unclear what the status of the project was at the time of Jan 1’s attack.
Construction began in November 2024 and was scheduled to continue through February 2025, according to a city website.
Last month in Germany, a 50-year-old man was charged with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder after police said he plowed a car through crowds at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, killing five people and injuring scores.
New Orleans has experienced shootings and cars colliding with crowds at past parades.
In November 2024, two people were killed and 10 injured in two separate shootings along a New Orleans parade route and celebration attended by thousands, local media reported.
In February 2017, a man who police said appeared to be highly intoxicated plowed a pickup truck into a crowd of spectators watching the main Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, injuring more than 20 people.
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