10 dead, at least 30 injured as car plows through crowd in New Orleans, US

HOUSTON -- At least ten people died and 30 others were injured after a car plowed into New Year's Eve revelers in New Orleans, in the southern US state of Louisiana, authorities said on Wednesday.

The incident happened around 3:15 am (0915 GMT) at the intersection of Bourbon Street and Iberville, the French Quarter, which is one of the most crowded areas of New Orleans and the heart of the city's tourism industry, police said.

"There are 30 injured patients that have been transported by NOEMS (New Orleans Emergency Medical Services) and 10 fatalities. Public safety partners are responding on the scene," NOLA Ready, the city's emergency preparedness campaign said earlier in a post on social media platform X.

The police chief later said at least 35 were injured and it seemed a majority of them were local residents, not visitors.

"We do not know at this point how many could be tourists versus locals, but from the information I have right now, it seems the majority are locals," she said.

The driver, a man, fired a weapon from his vehicle after hitting the crowd, injuring two police officers, New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick said at a press conference. The two police officers are now in "stable" condition.

"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, he was hellbent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did," Kirkpatrick said.

"It was very intentional behavior," she said. "This man was trying to run over as many people as he could."

The suspect was confirmed to be dead at the scene, Fox News said. It is unclear whether he was killed exchanging fire with police or whether he took his own life.

Alethea Duncan, an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) New Orleans field office, said officials were investigating the discovery of at least one suspected improvised explosive device at the scene.

The identity of the suspect and any potential motive for the incident remain unclear and the FBI continues to investigate.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell declared the incident a "terrorist attack", but FBI agents said that has not been confirmed.

US President Joe Biden has been briefed on the incident, the White House said in a statement.

"The White House has been in touch with New Orleans Mayor Cantrell to offer support," the statement said. "The FBI is already on the ground supporting local law enforcement in the investigation and the President will continue to be briefed throughout the day."

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry called the incident a "horrific act of violence".