A vehicle plowed into a crowd in the iconic Bourbon Street of New Orleans, Louisiana, at around 3:15 a.m. local time on January 1, 2025, during the New Year’s Eve celebrations, leading to at least 10 deaths and numerous injuries.
The incident has been classified as a ‘terror attack.’
How the attack unfolded
The night was filled with revelry as crowds gathered for the New Year’s Eve festivities in the heart of the French Quarter.
However, chaos ensued when a pickup truck, identified as a Ford F-150 Lightning electric vehicle with Texas plates, breached barricades at high speed, targeting pedestrians.
Georgia’s Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene posted this video from the moments during the incident.
Eyewitnesses recounted the horror of seeing the truck slamming into everyone on the left side of Bourbon sidewalk.
The attack resulted in at least 10 fatalities, with over 30 individuals injured, including two police officers who were shot by the assailant. The injured were rushed to five local hospitals.
Suspect killed, and the investigation ongoing
The suspect, described by authorities as ‘hellbent on creating carnage,’ was killed during a subsequent gunfight with responding officers. In some social media posts, not confirmed by the authorities, the bearded suspect was seen dead on the ground.
New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick explained that despite the presence of over 300 police officers for the celebrations, the attack unfolded rapidly, as the suspect ‘was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could.’
The FBI has taken over the investigation, with Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan mentioning the identification of a possible improvised explosive device (IED) at the scene. Although initially, there was confusion regarding the classification of the incident, with Ms. Duncan stating it was ‘not a terrorist event,’ the mayor’s declaration and further evidence have led to it being treated as an act of terrorism.
Anyone with information about the attack was asked to approach the FBI.
Security measures were already heightened in anticipation of the Allstate Sugar Bowl, scheduled to occur later that day at the nearby Caesars Superdome. Despite the attack, the game proceeded as planned, with assurances from authorities that additional security measures were in place to protect attendees.
Lousiana Governor Jeff Landry said he was praying for the victims.
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the incident, and his administration has offered support to local authorities.