The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said on Wednesday that it was investigating the truck-ramming incident on Bourbon Street in New Orleans as an act of terrorism. It confirmed that the suspected attacker was dead in a shootout that followed the incident.
“This morning, an individual drove a car into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing a number of people and injuring dozens of others,” the FBI said in a statement.
“The subject then engaged with local law enforcement and is now deceased. The FBI is the lead investigative agency, and we are working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism,” it added.
The incident, which occurred at early hours of Wednesday, led to the death of 10 and injured 30.
Here are top developments into the story:
Won’t tolerate any attack on our nation’s communities: Joe Biden
Condemning the incident, US President Joe Biden said, “There is no justification for violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation’s communities.”
“I will continue to receive updates throughout the day, and I will have more to say as we have further information to share. In the meantime, my heart goes out to the victims and their families who were simply trying to celebrate the holiday,” he added.
He spoke with New Orleans mayor LaToya Cantrell following the incident. He vowed to offer “full federal support”.
Further, he has been briefed by FBI and homeland security officials regarding the “horrific” incident, as described by the White House.
Donald Trump links attack to illegal immigration
US President-elect Donald Trump linked incident to illegal immigration in the country calling them “worse than the criminals we have in our country”.
“When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats and the Fake News Media, but it turned out to be true,” he said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.
“The crime rate in our country is at a level that nobody has ever seen before. Our hearts are with all of the innocent victims and their loved ones, including the brave officers of the New Orleans Police Department. The Trump Administration will fully support the City of New Orleans as they investigate and recover from this act of pure evil!” he added.
Suspect tried ‘to run over as many people as he could’: Police
After the incident, police commissioner Anne Kirkpatrick said that the suspect was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did” and he tried “to run over as many people as he could.”
Authorities reported that Bourbon Street was bustling with revelers celebrating the arrival of 2025 and attending New Year’s Eve parties when the truck-ramming attack took place.
Crowds in New Orleans had grown significantly ahead of Wednesday night’s Sugar Bowl college football playoff game between No 2 Georgia and No 3 Notre Dame. Officials confirmed that the game would proceed as planned.