The driver responsible for the New Orleans attack that killed 10 people on New Year’s Day is dead, the FBI has confirmed after police previously shared the news with PEOPLE.
The massacre occurred around 3:15 a.m. local time on Jan. 1 when a pickup truck barreled down Bourbon Street in the city’s popular French Quarter, killing 10 and injuring around 35 others.
After the driver crashed his truck, he was involved in a police shootout which left two officers injured, but in stable condition. The New Orleans Police Department previously confirmed to PEOPLE that the driver died in the exchange.
“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 new statement, according to NBC News. “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.”
Related: New Orleans Driver ‘Was Hell-Bent on Creating Carnage’ in Incident that Left 10 Dead, Police Say
MATTHEW HINTON/AFP via Getty
Police cordon off the intersection of Canal Street and Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, on January 1, 2025
This statement was a departure from the one made during the morning’s press conference.
Assistant Special Agent in charge of FBI New Orleans Alethea Duncan told reporters at the time, “This is not a terrorist event. What it is right now is there are improvised explosive devices that was found, and we are working on confirming if this is a viable device or not.”
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Related: 10 People Killed, 30 Injured After Truck Is Driven into New Year’s Eve Crowd in New Orleans: Police
New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Chief Anne Kirkpatrick previously told reporters of the incident, “It was very intentional behavior. This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could. It was not a DUI situation. This is more complex and serious based on the information we have.”
Kirkpatrick called out the driver’s “intentional mindset,” saying, “This perpetrator, who went around our barricades in order to conduct this, he was hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage he did.”
Details about the suspect have not been released at this time, though police have promised a new update at 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Jan. 1.
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