New Orleans massacre is ‘act of terrorism’ – FBI

The lead agent on the case initially stated the incident was not a terror attack

The FBI has said that it is investigating the killing of ten people in the US city of New Orleans as “an act of terrorism.” A suspect drove a pickup truck into a crowd of revelers on Wednesday morning, and then opened fire on police before he was shot dead.

“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,” the FBI said in a statement.

“The subject 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,” the statement continued.

The attack took place at a popular tourist destination, which was packed with New Year’s revelers at the time. The suspect killed at least 10 people and wounded 35 others, New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) chief Anne Kirkpatrick told reporters at a briefing earlier on Wednesday.

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New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell immediately referred to the incident as a “terrorist attack,” but was contradicted at the same briefing by FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Alethea Duncan, who stated that “this is not a terrorist event.”

Duncan told reporters that the FBI was working with local police to investigate “improvised explosive devices” found near the scene of the attack. According to unconfirmed reports in multiple media outlets, bomb technicians carried out at least one controlled demolition of such a device.