New Orleans’ police commissioner said the Sugar Bowl will be played as scheduled Wednesday night amid an investigation after a driver in a pickup truck plowed through crowds on Bourbon Street, killing 10 and injuring at least 35.
Police Commissioner Anne Kirkpatrick said officers would work to ensure safety at the Sugar Bowl, indicating that the game would go on as scheduled.
The attack occurred around 3:15 a.m. CT Wednesday in New Orleans’ bustling French Quarter district, known worldwide as one of the largest destinations for New Year’s Eve parties. Crowds in the city had also ballooned in anticipation of the College Football Playoff game between Georgia and Notre Dame at the nearby Superdome on Wednesday night.
“He was hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did,” Kirkpatrick said. “It was very intentional behavior. This man was trying to run over as many people as he could.”
The male driver was shot and killed by police when he got out of his truck, law enforcement officials told ABC News. The man was in possession of an assault rifle and had allegedly been firing a gun while he was driving through the crowd, the officials said.
Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, said officials were investigating the discovery of at least one suspected improvised explosive device at the scene.
NOLA Ready, the city’s emergency preparedness department, said the injured had been taken to five local hospitals. Two police officers who were shot after the driver emerged from the truck are in stable condition, Kirkpatrick said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
