According to the British website “Sky News”, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell described the incident as a “terrorist attack”, adding, “But the FBI later said it was “not a terrorist event”.
As CBS News explained: “The mayor referred to the incident as a possible terrorist attack, but an FBI official did not describe it that way”.
It added: “Officials did not provide any information about the man who drove the truck, and his condition and location were not immediately clear”.
For his part, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry described the incident as a “horrific act of violence”.
Ten people were killed and 30 others were injured after a truck plowed into a crowd of people at the famous intersection of Canal and Bourbon Streets in New Orleans during the early hours of New Year’s Day.
The New Orleans Police Department had previously announced that it was dealing with a mass casualty incident, including fatalities.
CBS News earlier quoted witnesses as saying that a truck rammed into a crowd at high speed, then the driver got out and started shooting, and police returned fire. The incident occurred before the end of New Year’s Eve celebrations, and hours before the start of the College Football Playoff quarterfinals at the city’s Caesars Superdome, where thousands of people are expected to attend.
