FBI calls the event an ‘act of terrorism’

US President Joe Biden has been briefed on the “horrific news that a driver killed and injured dozens of individuals in New Orleans overnight”, according to a statement release by the White House. The president has been in touch with New Orleans Mayor, LaToya Cantrell, to offer support.

FBI in a statement, said that the case is being investigated as an “act of terrorism”, adding that the person then “engaged with local law enforcement and is now deceased”.

A federal law enforcement official told CNN that the suspect in the New Orleans attack has died. The driver of the pickup truck was killed after exchanging gunfire with police, according to a senior law enforcement source who spoke to the Guardian. The source said that the driver was armed with a rifle and wearing a helmet and body armor.

New Orleans Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said the suspect displayed “very intentional behaviour” and was “trying to run over as many people as he possibly could”. She added that the individual was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and damage he did.”

US President Joe Biden spoke with  New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell and offered “full federal support” following the horrific news. 

The investigators are probing the case and looking in whether the suspect had links to or was inspired by foreign terror groups, CBS reported citing sources with law enforcement and the City of New Orleans.

US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson called the New Orleans attack “an act of pure evil” in a post on X.

The vicious attack on innocent people celebrating the New Year in New Orleans early this morning was an act of pure evil, and justice must be swift for anyone who was involved.

Please join us in praying for the victims, their families, and the first responders and investigators…

— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) January 1, 2025

“The vicious attack on innocent people celebrating the New Year in New Orleans early this morning was an act of pure evil, and justice must be swift for anyone who was involved. Please join us in praying for the victims, their families, and the first responders and investigators on the scene,” he wrote on social media platform X.

Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick advised the residents to go about their day as normal, further asking them to avoid the area around Bourbon Street. 

US President Joe Biden spoke to New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell following the deadly incident, according to a White House official. 

Biden has also been briefed about the incident by senior leadership at the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and his White House homeland security team.

In a statement, the FBI said the person who rammed car into a crowd of people is dead, adding that the attack is being investigated as an “act of terrorism”.

“The FBI is the lead investigative agency, and we are working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism,” it added.

At least ten people lost their lives and over 35 were injured in New Orleans’s Bourbon Street after a man drove a pickup truck into a crowd during the early hours of New Year’s Day.