At least 15 dead in New Orleans New Year truck attack

A man drove a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year revelers at about 3:15 a.m. on January 1, killing at least 10 people and sending 30 others to the emergency rooms of five hospitals across the southern US city, which is home to about 365,000 people.

The attack took place near the intersection of Bourbon Street and Canal Street in the French Quarter of the city, a popular tourist attraction known for its many bars and live music venues. Police said the driver opened fire on officers after the crash and was killed in an exchange of bullets.

"He was hellbent on creating the carnage and damage that he did," New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick told reporters in the morning of January 1.

The scene of the attack remained closed off into the morning hours of January 1. The French Quarter is regularly thronged with the tourists who support the economy of New Orleans. Kirkpatrick said the people killed appeared to be more “locals versus tourists.”

Police evacuated hotels in the early hours of January 1 and have closed off much of the French Quarter on a day when the district would normally be teeming with tourists in town for the holiday, as well as the Sugar Bowl, which brings together top university teams to compete in the sport of US-rules football.

Police said officers were investigating what appeared to be an improvised explosive device, though authorities do not yet know if it was capable of being detonated. The domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), has announced that it is treating the attack as an act of terror. An Islamic State (IS) flag was found in the back of the truck.