[New Orleans’ Bourbon Street Devolves into Grisly Crime Scene as Pickup Truck Plows Through Crowds, Killing at Least 15
New Orleans’ famed Bourbon Street devolved into a grisly crime scene just hours into the new year as a driver plowed a pickup truck through crowds of holiday revelers, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens of others in what the FBI is investigating as a possible act of terrorism.
The suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was killed in a shootout with police, according to the New Orleans Police Department. The FBI is now investigating whether the 42-year-old US citizen had any association with a terrorist organization or may have received help carrying out the attack, two law enforcement sources told CNN.
Using surveillance footage and witness video and accounts, CNN has pieced together a visual timeline of the attack. Around 3:16 a.m., a white pickup truck was captured on a surveillance camera driving northwest on Canal Street toward the intersection with Bourbon Street. At the intersection, the truck makes a sharp right onto the sidewalk, skirting a wall of police cars and other barriers that had been blocking cars from entering Bourbon Street and plowing into a group of people who had been standing on the corner.
Panic and fear surged through the crowd as the driver accelerated down Bourbon Street, ramming into more pedestrians. Witnesses described the scene as “unimaginable” with crumpled bodies strewn across the bloody asphalt.
The truck continued racing down Bourbon Street before crashing, police said. The suspect exited his car and began shooting at police officers, who returned fire, according to the FBI. The suspect was shot and killed by officers, police said. Two officers were injured and were in stable condition Wednesday.
Social media video verified by CNN appears to capture the confrontation between police and the suspect outside the Royal Sonesta New Orleans hotel – about two blocks from where the truck began its deadly path. The video, geolocated by CNN, shows an injured person lying just feet from a heavily damaged white pickup truck.
The street resembled a “real-life horror movie” with crumpled bodies strewn across the bloody asphalt, said one witness. After the truck passed, Cothran stepped onto a nightclub balcony to find “unimaginable casualty” below.
The area could be shut down for about 48 hours as investigators process the scene, Helena Moreno, president of the New Orleans City Council, told CNN affiliate WVUE.
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