Witness describes horrific scene after officers say man deliberately drove truck An explosion struck a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans early Wednesday, killing at least 10 people and injuring dozens of others. The FBI said the driver died after a shootout with police.
Eyewitnesses told CBS News reporter Kati Weiss that a white truck at speed crashed into people, leaving a path of carnage and distraught bystanders.
Jim and Nicole Mowrer, visiting from Des Moines, Iowa, told CBS News that they had watched the city's fireworks display and were enjoying the New Year's Day atmosphere in the French Quarter when they heard noises coming from down the street. He said he then saw a white truck hit the barricade “at high speed”.
Mowers said they heard gunshots followed by the sound of the plane crashing and tried to help those they found injured, but realized the victims had died.
“They were very obviously dead and there was nothing we could do,” said Jim Mowrer, who added that he was an Iraq War veteran and his goal was to provide first aid.
Movers estimated that the truck hit the people only a block away from where they were walking.
Jim said, “We were in the middle of the street and managed to run across the street onto the sidewalk and into the door of a building to hide. We heard gunshots, saw police running away.”
“We stayed on the roof until the firing stopped, came out into the street and met a lot of people – a lot of people who had been hit, (we) wanted to see what we could do to help,” he said. Can do.” “The people we met were unfortunately dead.”
Mowers said that the victims he saw were injured by the impact of the truck, and he did not see any obvious gunshot wounds. He said many of the victims were surrounded by emotional loved ones.
Jim said, “It seemed like there were people, you know, people who were with those people or friends, and, obviously very, very distraught, because they appeared to be people they knew. “
He said they left the area as emergency responders began arriving.
Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said, “This guy was trying to run over as many people as possible.” “He was bent on carrying out genocide and the damage it caused.”
The suspect was shot by police and pronounced dead at the scene, according to the New Orleans Police Department. Said,
The FBI said they were investigating the attack “as an act of terrorism.”
In a 2017 memo reviewed by CBS News, the city of New Orleans acknowledged the risk of a mass-casualty incident in the crowded, tourist-friendly French Quarter. The memo specifically references vehicle attacks Nice, France, London, EnglandAnd new york cityThe city said it planned to install a camera and surveillance program, a centralized command center and more police patrols in the area.