Two police officers are in stable condition after being shot in a mass casualty incident in the southern U.S. city of New Orleans on Wednesday that has left at least 10 people dead and over 35 others injured, according to the city’s police chief.
Chief Anne Kirkpatrick reported that a man drove a pickup truck down the city’s Bourbon Street “at a very fast pace” around 3:15 a.m. local time. The man displayed “very intentional behavior” and was “trying to run over as many people as he possibly could,” Kirkpatrick stated during a press briefing.
Following the vehicular attack, the suspect fired shots from his vehicle, wounding two police officers. The officers are currently in stable condition.
Kirkpatrick stated she did not know how many of the victims are tourists, adding that “it seems the majority are locals.”
The White House announced that U.S. President Joe Biden has been briefed on the incident.
Was it a terrorist attack?
Mayor LaToya Cantrell described the incident as a “terrorist attack” while appealing to people to avoid the area. However, minutes later, Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, said at the same press briefing that the incident was “not a terrorist attack.”
The FBI later issued a statement saying the bureau is investigating the incident “as an act of terrorism.”
Duncan mentioned that officials are investigating at least one suspected improvised explosive device discovered at the scene.
Local TV station WDSU broadcast footage of a law enforcement robot examining the underside of the vehicle.
The attacker has been reported dead. The FBI and police are still working to determine his motive.
A history of similar incidents
New Orleans has experienced similar tragic events in the past. In November 2024, two people were killed and ten others injured in two separate shootings along a parade route attended by thousands, local media reported.
In February 2017, a pickup truck driven by a man who police said appeared to be highly intoxicated plowed into a crowd of spectators watching the main Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, injuring more than 20 people.
Reference(s):
2 officers shot and wounded in New Orleans 'terrorist attack:' police
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