New Orleans Attack Being Investigated as Act of Terrorism: FBI

FBI investigators arrive at the scene where the white Ford F-150 pickup truck that crashed into a work lift after allegedly driving into a crowd of New Year's revelers in the French Quarter of New Orleans on Jan. 1, 2025. Matthew Hinton/AFP via Getty Images

The New Year vehicular attack in New Orleans is being probed as an act of terrorism, the FBI has confirmed.

“The FBI is the lead investigative agency, and we are working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism,” a spokesperson for the agency told The Epoch Times in an email.

Around 3:15 a.m. local time on Jan. 1, a man drove a pickup truck through a large crowd in the French Quarter neighborhood, according to the New Orleans Police Department.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell in a news conference several hours after the incident said that the city had been “impacted by a terrorist attack.” But Alethea Duncan, the assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s office in New Orleans, had said shortly after that it was “not a terrorist event” even though an improvised explosive device had been located.

The man killed 10 people and left some 35 others injured, according to the New Orleans Police Department.

“This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could,” New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick told reporters in a news conference.

“He was hellbent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did,” she added later.

After crashing the truck, the man fired shots at law enforcement officers.

The man “was struck and subsequently declared deceased on scene,” the police department said in a statement. “Further information on the suspect is not currently available for release.”

Two officers who were struck are in stable condition.

According to New Orleans City Council President Helena Moreno, the suspect was wearing military gear.

“Information that I received is that this individual was in full military gear, that he is apparently not local, and that he was prepared, and that he was very prepared to inflict horrific pain on the people on Bourbon Street,” she told WWL-TV.

President Joe Biden told reporters that he could not comment on specifics until he learned of “all the facts” about what happened but said his reaction “was one of anger and frustration.”

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said on the social media platform X that she was praying for the victims and their families and would “ensure they get justice for this appalling act.”

President-elect Donald Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social: “Our hearts are with all of the innocent victims and their loved ones, including the brave officers of the New Orleans Police Department. The Trump Administration will fully support the City of New Orleans as they investigate and recover from this act of pure evil!”