Ten people have been killed and 30 injured after a vehicle drove into a crowd in New Orleans’ tourist district in the early hours of New Year’s Day, according to officials, with media reporting the driver later fired a gun.
The city’s disaster preparedness agency, Nola Ready, released a statement on a “mass casualty incident involving a vehicle that drove into a large crowd on Canal and Bourbon Street”.
The area is part of city’s French Quarter, which is a popular nightlife destination.
CBS News and CNN cited witnesses reporting that the driver had also fired a gun.
CBS said one of its reporters, Kati Weis, saw people on the ground with injuries. It said witnesses had told her the driver of the vehicle had fired a weapon and that police had returned fire.
CBS News quoted a New Orleans police department spokesperson as saying that “initial reports show a car may have ploughed into a group of people.”
CNN quoted a witness, Kevin Garcia, 22, as saying: “All I seen was a truck slamming into everyone on the left side of Bourbon sidewalk.
“A body came flying at me,” he said, adding that he had also heard gunshots.
The Louisiana governor, Jeff Landry, called the incident “a horrific act of violence” and urged people to avoid the area in a post on X.
New Orleans is preparing for the Sugar Bowl on Wednesday evening, a major college football game between the University of Georgia and the University of Notre Dame. The city hosted a parade ahead of the game on Tuesday, and according to CNN, the New Orleans police department had said it would be staffed “at 100%” during the festivities.
More details soon …