Ten people are dead and 30 others injured after a truck drove into a crowd of New Year’s Eve revelers in New Orleans early Wednesday, January 1. Authorities are treating the incident, which occurred at Canal and Bourbon Streets, as a terrorist attack.
According to New Orleans Emergency Medical Services, the injured were transported to local hospitals while public safety teams responded on-site. The driver, who witnesses say plowed through barricades and struck pedestrians, exited the vehicle and exchanged gunfire with police before being fatally shot.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell condemned the event during a press conference, describing it as a “terrorist attack” and urging residents to “pray for those who lost their lives.” The mayor advised the public to avoid an eight-block radius around Bourbon Street as the investigation continues.
Governor Jeff Landry called the event a “horrific act of violence” in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, asking for prayers for the victims and first responders.
Witness accounts painted a harrowing scene. Jim and Nicole Mowrer, visiting from Iowa, described seeing a white truck speeding through barricades before hearing gunfire. Kevin Garcia, 22, recalled, “A truck slammed into everyone on the left side of Bourbon’s sidewalk… a body came flying at me.”
Another witness, Whit Davis, 22, shared that he was leaving a nightclub when chaos erupted. “Everyone started yelling and running… I saw a few dead bodies and people receiving first aid,” Davis told CNN.
The tragedy has cast a shadow over New Year’s celebrations in the French Quarter, leaving the city shaken as officials work to determine the motive behind the deadly attack. This is a developing story, and updates will follow as more details emerge.
