CNA Staff, Jan 1, 2025 / 11:50 am

Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans offered prayers Wednesday morning after the driver of a pickup truck drove into a crowd of people at a New Year’s celebration on the city’s famed Bourbon Street, killing at least 10 and injuring dozens of others. The incident is being investigated by the FBI as an act of terrorism, according to the Associated Press.

“Our prayers go out to those killed and injured in this morning’s horrific attack on Bourbon Street,” Aymond said in a brief statement released on the archdiocese’s website and Facebook page. “This violent act is a sign of utter disrespect for human life.”

According to police, the driver sped through a crowd on Bourbon Street at about 3:15 a.m. Wednesday as partygoers were celebrating the start of the new year. At least 10 people were killed and 30 others were injured and taken to five area hospitals. After the vehicle stopped, the suspect reportedly exchanged gunfire with police and was killed, the AP reported. At least two officers were wounded and taken to a local hospital.

“I join with others in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans in offering prayerful support to the victims’ families,” Aymond’s statement continued. “I give thanks for the heroic duty of hundreds of law enforcement and medical personnel in the face of such evil.”

Police Commissioner Anne Kirkpatrick said the driver was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did” and tried “to run over as many people as he could,” according to the AP.

The city of New Orleans is host to this year’s college football Sugar Bowl game between No. 2-ranked Georgia and No. 3 Notre Dame. Officials said the game will go on later today as planned, the AP reported.

Wednesday’s incident comes a couple of weeks after a car driven by a Saudi Arabian immigrant rammed into a crowd at a Christmas market in the central German city of Magdeburg, killing at least two people, according to media reports.

This is a developing story.