NEW ORLEANS (AP) – New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell called the New Year’s Day mass casualty attack that left 10 people dead and 30 injured a “terrorist attack.”
The FBI is investigating an incident early Wednesday morning when a vehicle plowed into a crowd at New Orleans’ famous canals and Bourbon Street during the first hours of New Year’s Day.
Alecia Duncan, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, said authorities were investigating the discovery of at least one suspected improvised explosive device at the scene.
Earlier, the New Orleans Police Department announced it was responding to a mass casualty incident that occurred on Wednesday, including a fatality. NOLA Ready advised people to avoid the area.
The injured were transported to five local hospitals, the statement said.
The incident occurred at 3:15 a.m., just as New Year’s celebrations were winding down in New Orleans, hours before kickoff at the Sugar Bowl, a college football quarterfinal game that was expected to draw thousands of people at the city’s Superdome. .
Earlier this week, the police department announced it would beef up security for New Year’s celebrations. The ministry announced a 100% deployment of 300 staff from partner agencies and a strong presence of marked and unmarked vehicles.
Source link
