‘Hellbent’ on carnage: At least 10 killed in New Orleans car-ramming attack

New Orleans police reported that a suspect has been killed, after exchanging gunfire with police and attempting to flee.

At least 10 people have been killed and 35 others injured after a driver crashed his pickup truck into a crowd at high speed in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the early hours of New Year’s Day.

On Wednesday, officials in the United States city described the car-ramming as a deliberate attack.

“This man was trying to run over as many people as he could,” New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick told reporters on Wednesday. “He was hellbent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did.”

Kirkpatrick added that the situation was not considered an instance of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, known as a DUI.

“ It was very intentional behaviour,” Kirkpatrick said. “It was not a DUI situation. This is more complex and more serious based on the information we have right now.”