Ten people have been killed and 30 injured after a vehicle drove into a crowd in New Orleans’ tourist district in the early hours of New Year’s Day, according to officials, with local media reporting the driver later fired a gun.
The city’s official disaster preparedness agency, Nola Ready, released a statement on a “mass casualty incident involving a vehicle that drove into a large crowd on Canal and Bourbon Street”.
The area is part of city’s French Quarter, which is a popular nightlife destination.
CBS News and CNN cited witnesses reporting that the driver had also fired a gun.
CBS said one of its reporters, Kati Weis, saw multiple people on the ground with injuries. It said witnesses had told Weis that the driver of the vehicle fired a weapon, with police returning fire.
A New Orleans police department spokesperson was quoted by CBS News as saying, “initial reports show a car may have ploughed into a group of people.”
CNN quoted a witness, Kevin Garcia, 22, as saying: “All I seen was a truck slamming into everyone on the left side of Bourbon sidewalk.
“A body came flying at me,” he said, adding that he also heard gunshots being fired.
More details soon …
