New Orleans police provide huge update on fate of Sugar Bowl after NYE ‘terrorist’ attack killed 10
New Orleans police say today’s Sugar Bowl between Georgia and Notre Dame will go ahead despite a “terrorist” attack in New York that killed 10 people less than a mile from the stadium.
The fate of the College Football Playoff game was thrown into doubt after a Ford SUV struck a crowd of people on Bourbon Street around 3:50 a.m. Wednesday morning, killing 10 people and injuring another 35.
Many thought the match might be postponed given the proximity of the attack, but Police Commissioner Anne Kirkpatrick has indicated the match will go ahead as planned.
Speaking to the media, she said officers will work to ensure safety at the Sugar Bowl, and security is expected to be increased as 83,000 fans come to the Superdome.
“He was determined to cause the carnage and damage he caused,” Kirkpatrick said. ‘It was very deliberate behaviour. This man tried to run over as many people as possible.’
At least ten people were killed after a driver rammed into the large group at high speed in New Orleans
Dozens of police officers responded to what authorities called a “mass casualty event.”
The football match, just a short walk from Bourbon Street, will still go ahead on Wednesday
The terrorist in question was killed by police after a shootout at the scene, as first reported by the New York Times.
The incident took place less than a mile from the Superdome, which will also host the Super Bowl in just five weeks.
Thousands of Notre Dame and Georgia fans had arrived in New Orleans for a night of festivities ahead of the start of the College Football Playoffs and the city’s historic Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day.
But joy turned to terror in the French Quarter in the early hours of the morning as the incident unfolded, despite police presence being at ‘100% capacity’.
Police had also claimed that in addition to a full-capacity team, they had deployed an additional 300 officers from partner agencies to handle the New Year’s Eve and Sugar Bowl festivities.
The driver rammed into the large group at high speed, then got out and started shooting a weapon, witnesses said. Investigators later added that they found what appeared to be improvised explosive devices at the crash site that failed to detonate.
A shootout ensued between police and the suspect, during which two officers were shot by the suspect and are in stable condition.
Witnesses claim the suspect was “wearing full body armor” and “armed with an assault rifle,” and officials said he was “trying to run over as many people as possible.”
Videos circulating on social media showed a chaotic scene in the tourist hotspot as people ran from the victim-strewn area as bullets rang out in the background.
Dozens of police officers responded to what authorities declared a “mass casualty event” and part of the road was cordoned off. Paramedics, ambulances and vehicles from the coroner’s office were also seen at the scene.
Ambulances transported the injured to five area hospitals, the city added, and the FBI has taken over the ongoing investigation.