Multiple reports of mass casualties in New Orleans were emerging early New Year’s Day after news outlets indicated a car drove into a group of revelers on Bourbon Street.
Ten people were killed and 30 injured after the incident in the historic French Quarter, according to NOLA Ready, the city’s emergency preparedness agency.
The injured had been taken to five local hospitals.
NOLAREADY: There has been a mass casualty incident on Canal and Bourbon Street. Get yourself away from the area. Visit https://t.co/AyuRn38guC for details.
— NOLA Ready (@nolaready) January 1, 2025
At around 3:15 a.m. the vehicle, described as an SUV, reportedly drove headlong into pedestrians at the intersection between Bourbon Street and Iberville, WGNO reported.
Videos circulating on social media that appear to have been recorded Wednesday at the scene of the mass casualty incident show multiple casualties on the ground.
Gunfire can be heard in the background and people can be seen running from the area, the BBC reports.
After ramming the crowd, the suspected driver reportedly jumped out of a truck and began firing a weapon, CBS News reported.
A spokesman for the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) said “initial reports show a car may have ploughed into a group of people,” adding: “Injuries are unknown but there are reported fatalities.”
WLTV had a reporter on the spot soon after:
The incident came toward the end of New Year’s celebrations in New Orleans and hours before the kickoff of the AllState Bowl, a college football quarterfinal held in the city’s Caesars Superdome, with thousands expected to be in attendance.
More to come…
