New Orleans New Year's celebration turns deadly as man rams truck into crowd

A 42-year-old Texas man crashed a pickup truck into a crowd celebrating New Year's Day in New Orleans' French Quarter and then opened fire on police, killing at least 10 people and injuring 35, in an early morning attack the FBI said was a potential act of terrorism.

The suspect, identified by the FBI as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Texas, died at the scene in the shootout with police, officials said.

"An ISIS flag was located in the vehicle and the FBI is working to determine the subject's potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations," the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the lead investigator, said in a statement.

Investigators found weapons and a potential explosive device in the vehicle, and other potential explosive devices were found in the French Quarter, the FBI said. It said the vehicle appeared to have been rented.

One city leader described the assailant as being in full military gear.

U.S. Representative Troy Carter told ABC News the death toll may have risen to 15 but that detail was not immediately confirmed by law enforcement officials.

Police officers stand at the scene where a truck drove into a large crowd on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. January 1, 2025 in this screengrab taken from a video. Reuters

"This man was trying to run over as many people as he could," Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick said at a televised press conference on Wednesday. "He was hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did."

The incident occurred at 3:15 a.m. (0915 GMT) near the intersection of Canal and Bourbon Streets, a historic tourist destination in the city's French Quarter known for attracting large crowds with its music and bars.

Kirkpatrick said the driver, who swerved around barricades, shot and wounded two police officers from the vehicle after it crashed. The officers were in stable condition, she added.

"We know the perpetrator has been killed," said New Orleans City Councilman Oliver Thomas. "As we search for a motive, remember there is no making sense of evil."

More than 300 officers were on duty at the time of the incident, police said.

The city hosts the Sugar Bowl, a classic American college football game, each New Year's Day. Local media including NOLA.com and WDSU television reported the Sugar Bowl would be postponed, citing unnamed sources.

The Sugar Bowl Committee was less definitive in a statement, saying, "We are in ongoing discussions with authorities on the local, state, and federal levels and will communicate further details as they become available."

The city will also be the site of the NFL Super Bowl on Feb. 9.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell called the incident a terrorist attack.

"This is a fluid situation and we are in coordination with numerous local and federal law enforcement agencies to ensure a complete and thorough investigation to bring those who may have been part of this incident to justice," Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said on X.

'Horrific act'

Verified video taken by an onlooker shows at least two twisted bodies in the street, with one of them lying in what appears to be a puddle of blood. A bystander is seen kneeling over one of the bodies as a group of uniformed military personnel in green uniforms and carrying firearms runs past.

The injured were taken to at least five hospitals, according to NOLA Ready, the city's emergency preparedness department.

A couple told CBS News that they heard crashing noises coming from down the street and then saw a white truck slam through a barricade "at a high rate of speed".

Zion Parsons, 18, told NOLA.com that he and his two friends were leaving a Bourbon Street eatery when they heard a commotion and saw a white car barreling toward them.

He said he dodged the vehicle, but one of his friends was struck, with her leg "twisted and contorted above and around her back."

"You can just look and see bodies, just bodies of people, just bleeding, broken bones," he said.

Police attend the scene where a pickup truck drove into a large crowd on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. January 1, 2025 in this screengrab taken from a video. Reuters

Louisiana U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy said on CNN that despite the attack, law enforcement in New Orleans was ready for the Sugar Bowl on Wednesday night.

In response to vehicle attacks on pedestrian malls around the world, New Orleans was in the process of removing and replacing the steel barriers known as bollards that restrict vehicle traffic in the Bourbon Street pedestrian zone. The project's status was unclear at the time of Wednesday's attack.

Construction began in November 2024 and was scheduled to continue through February 2025, according to a city website.

Last month in Germany, a 50-year-old man was charged with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder after police said he plowed a car through crowds at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, killing five people and injuring scores.

President Joe Biden called the city's mayor to offer full federal support. President-elect Donald Trump said his incoming administration would help New Orleans as it investigates and recovers from what he called an act of pure evil.