As many as 10 people are feared to have been killed and dozens injured after an SUV ploughed into revellers celebrating New Year on a busy street in New Orleans and the driver then began firing a weapon, say witnesses
As many as 10 people are feared dead and dozens injured after an SUV ploughed into revellers celebrating New Year on a busy street.
The incident occurred at the intersection of Bourbon Street, famous for its many bars and clubs, and Iberville at around 3.15am local time in New Orleans, Louisiana, with multiple people seen lying on the ground injured.
Witnesses said that a truck crashed into a crowd on Bourbon Street at high speed, and then the driver got out and started firing a weapon and police returned fire.
New Orleans Police Department said that a truck may have run down the group on the famous street. It was unknown how many people were killed or injured, but unconfirmed reports on social media suggested a “mass casualty” incident.
Footage shows fleets of emergency service vehicles on Bourbon Street which has been closed and paramedics are on the scene currently.
A New Orleans Police spokesperson told CBS News “initial reports show a car may have ploughed into a group of people. Injuries are unknown but there are reported fatalities.”
Jim Mowrer, a US Army vet who claims he was on Bourbon Street with his wife at the time of the incident, said on X that he saw an SUV ‘speeding’ down the road and ‘running people over’.
Thousands of people have been in the area for New Year’s Eve celebrations. There was a golden-lit fleur de lis, a public concert stage and people enjoying themselves along Bourbon Street.
A journalist wrote on X: “NOPD source states that as many as 10 fatalities after driver in pickup truck plowed into crowd on Bourbon Street. Multiple more injuries. Mayor and police chief on scene.”
Another working for WWLTV stated : We’re hearing reports of numerous people being my struck by a vehicle and shots being fired in the French Quarter. The Orleans Parish Coroner has arrived on Canal St. “
People awaited the final countdown to 2025 in the French Quarter with a chilly night of music, laughter, beverages and fireworks along the curve of the Mississippi River before the tragic incident occurred a few hours later. Tourism officials said hotel occupancy rates were high in the city, both for the holiday and from an influx of college football fans in the city for Wednesday’s Allstate Sugar Bowl between the University of Georgia and Notre Dame University.
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