A mass casualty event unfolded on New Year's Day in New Orleans when an SUV plowed into a crowd on Bourbon Street, followed by gunfire. January 1, 2025.
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(New Orleans, NO) – At least 10 people are dead, and over 30 are hurt, after an SUV plowed into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. It happened around 3:00 AM on New Year’s Day, as revelers were continuing to celebrate in the tourism hotbed. Cell phone video taken from the Royal Sonesta hotel shows people pulling victims in from the street, rendering emergency aid.
Apparently, the driver of the vehicle hopped out after colliding with people and then starting shooting people. It’s not immediately clear if the injured and deceased were as a result of the impact or the gunfire. The status of the driver is not immediately clear. Any potential motivation behind the incident has not been disclosed.
Local television crews spoke to a witness who identified himself as a former US Marine. He described the scene as something reminiscent of his time in Iraq. The Royal Sonesta — which is seemingly in close proximity to the scene of the incident — is two blocks in from busy Canal Street, on Bourbon Street.
In addition to the busy New Year’s Eve celebrations, which routinely attract thousands to New Orleans, the Sugar Bowl game is scheduled for today at the Mercedes Superdome — between Notre Dame University and University of Georgia.
Mounted police units and cops with local and state law enforcement have been seen continuing to patrol in the Bourbon Street area.
