What do we know about the New Orleans killer? The man responsible for the Bourbon Street massacre
The driver who rammed into pedestrians celebrating the New Year in New Orleans, killing at least 10 people and injuring dozens, has died after a shootout with police.
Several sources have revealed that the man who drove his truck into the crowd on Bourbon Street was killed after he got out of his vehicle and started shooting.
The gunman — whose identity has not yet been released — injured two NOLA police officers during the shootout, who are in stable condition.
Officials have not revealed details about the gunman who killed at least 10 people early Wednesday, but witnesses say the suspect was “wearing full body armor” and “was armed with an assault rifle.”
The suspect rammed into the large group at high speed, then got out and started shooting with 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.
NOLA Police Inspector Anne Kirkpatrick said the man deliberately drove the truck into the crowd at a high rate of speed to cause chaos.
“It was very deliberate behavior … this man was trying to run over as many people as he could,” she said. “He was determined to do the carnage he did.”
The driver who rammed into pedestrians celebrating the New Year in New Orleans, killing at least 10 people and injuring dozens, is dead after a shootout with police
The suspect rammed into the large group at high speed, then got out and started shooting with a weapon, witnesses said
Kirkpatrick noted that it was “not a DUI situation and is “more complex and serious based on the information we have now.”
While New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell described the killings as a “terrorist attack,” FBI Special Agent Alethea Duncan then said “it is not a terrorist event.”
Videos circulating on social media that appear to have been recorded at the scene show multiple victims on the ground as shots ring out in the background. People were also seen running from the area.
Dozens of police officers responded to the attack and part of the road was cordoned off.
Paramedics and vehicles from the coroner’s office were also seen at the scene. Ambulances transported the injured to five hospitals in the region.