New Orleans police stated they have been coping with a mass casualty incident after a automobile reportedly plowed into individuals on Wednesday. Unconfirmed reviews stated 10 individuals have been killed whereas one other 30 have been injured within the incident.
A pickup truck drove right into a crowd at excessive pace on Bourbon Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter, CBS News reported. The driver received out and began firing a weapon, with police returning hearth, CBS News stated, citing witnesses.
The driver additionally shot and wounded two law enforcement officials, police stated. “This man, this perpetrator, he fired on our officers from his vehicle when he crashed his vehicle. Two of our officers have been shot. They are stable,” Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick informed a news convention after the assault.
Kirkpatrick stated the person tried to “run over as many people as he possibly could.”
The driver “was hellbent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did,” she added.
The standing and whereabouts of the motive force weren’t instantly recognized. Although the incident was not being handled as a terror assault, Kirkpatrick stated the truck had been pushed at “very high speed” and in a “very intentional” method. Operational command of the investigation shall be taken by the FBI, she added.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry described the incident as a “horrific act of violence.”
In the wee hours of the 12 months’s first day the realm would have been filled with revelers celebrating within the French Quarter, a district famend for its bars, eating places and jazz historical past.
CBS News tv reported witnesses saying the truck rammed into the gang earlier than its driver jumped out and began exchanging gunshots with police. A white truck crashed by means of a barricade “at a high rate of speed,” witnesses Jim and Nicole Mowrer informed CBS. “Once it was past us, we did hear gunfire, saw police running that direction,” Nicole Mowrer stated. “Once the gunfire stopped, we stayed in the alcove until the gunfire stopped, came out into the street, and came across a lot of – several people who had been hit, (we) wanted to see what we could do to help.”
New Orleans is likely one of the most closely visited locations within the United States and the incident got here shortly earlier than the town hosts a significant soccer sport, generally known as the Sugar Bowl, that includes groups from the University of Georgia and Notre Dame.
Policing was heavy over the New Year’s, in line with the town, as authorities braced for giant crowds. The metropolis police division had introduced staffing at “100%, with an additional 300 officers assisting from partner law enforcement agencies,” together with on horseback and utilizing unmarked models.
The iconic French Quarter listed particular offers for New Year’s, together with LGBTQ events and a drag cabaret close by the place the incident occurred.
Source: www.dailysabah.com