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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
National
Gregor Young

At least 10 killed and 30 injured after car ploughs into crowd in New Orleans

AN investigation is underway after 10 people were killed and 30 others injured when a vehicle was driven into a crowd in New Orleans, according to city officials.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell called the incident in the city’s popular Bourbon Street area a “terrorist attack”.

The FBI has since released a statement which says the person who drove the car into a crowd of people is dead and confirmed the attack is being investigated as an "act of terrorism".

The statement reads: "This morning, an individual drove a car into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing a number of people and injuring dozens of others."

It adds that the person driving the car "then engaged with local law enforcement and is now deceased".

"The FBI is the lead investigative agency, and we are working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism."

Earlier, the New Orleans Police Department said they were responding to a mass casualty incident that included fatalities.

The city’s emergency preparedness agency, Nola Ready, advised people to stay away from the area.

It said the injured had been taken to five local hospitals.

The incident happened at 3.15am local time, towards the end of New Year celebrations in the US and hours before kick-off in the AllState Bowl, a college football quarter-final held in New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome, with thousands expected to be in attendance.

Earlier this week, the police department said security would be beefed up ahead of New Year’s Day celebrations.

It said it would be staffed at 100% capacity with 300 officers from partner agencies and a strong presence of marked and unmarked vehicles.

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