The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
January 1, 2025 – a motorist intentionally plowed into a crowd of New Year's revelers Tuesday night in New Orleans. The murderer then began firing a weapon before being killed on the scene in a shootout with police. Authorities are describing the attack as an act of terrorism.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell called the incident a "terrorist attack" at a news conference on Wednesday.
FBI Special Agent Aletha Duncan said that that the incident is "not a terrorist attack" after Mayor Cantrell's comments.
At the moment the death toll stands at 10; but over 35 people were injured some seriously in the attack using a pickup truck as a weapon.
It could have been worse. The FBI reports that improvised explosive devices were found in the vehicle. They did not explode and authorities are analyzing the devices.
"At about 3:17 a.m., multiple law enforcement officers responded to a report of a vehicle having driven into a crowd of pedestrians on Bourbon Street," the New Orleans Police said in a statement. "Multiple people were reportedly struck before the vehicle crashed."
"Upon further investigation, a total of 10 victims were declared to be deceased on scene. At this time, approximately 35 additional victims were determined to have suffered injuries in relation to this incident," the NOPD said. "Those injured were transported to multiple local and area hospitals via EMS for treatment. No updates are currently available on these victims' conditions."
"After the vehicle came to a stop, the suspect reportedly opened fire on responding officers, who returned fire," the NOPD said. "The victim was struck and subsequently declared deceased on scene."
"Two NOPD officers were struck and injured in the exchange. Both were transported via EMS to a local hospital and were last listed in stable condition."
"This morning, an individual drove a car into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing a number of people and injuring dozens of others," the FBI said in a statement Wednesday. "The subject then engaged with local law enforcement and is now deceased. The FBI is the lead investigative agency, and we are working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism."
As of press time, the identities of the victims and the assassin have not been released. We do not know yet whether or not Alabamians were among the dead and wounded.
The NOPD said that, "Anyone looking to connect with family or loved ones believed to have been in the area of this incident is urged to call 311 and not to call 911."
The Federal Bureau of Investigations will be the lead agency on this investigation. Anyone with information that can assist is urged to contact the FBI's New Orleans Bureau by calling (504) 816-3000 or by emailing tips@fbi.gov.
Original reporting by the Associated Press and Fox News contributed to this report.
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