'Numb' New Orleans grapples with horror of deadly truck attack

New Orleans: The celebratory atmosphere of Bourbon Street in New Orleans, long an American byword for indulgence and revelry, was dimmed Wednesday as...

New Orleans: The celebratory atmosphere of Bourbon Street in New Orleans, long an American byword for indulgence and revelry, was dimmed Wednesday as residents and visitors alike reeled from a deadly truck attack on New Year's crowds.

Several square blocks of the main entertainment district were blocked off after the attack, in which authorities said a US military veteran plowed a pickup truck into pedestrians, killing at least 15 people and leaving a tear in the heart of the city known as the Big Easy.

"We're all numb," Ken Williams, a Creole chef who grew up in New Orleans and moonlights as a candy seller in the city's usually raucous French Quarter, told AFP.

"Everybody is feeling shocked about what happened," the 65-year-old added. "Some people are going to just try and drink it off -- shake the fright off, you know?"

Williams said he was fortunate to have headed home about 1:30 am Wednesday, some 90 minutes before the carnage began.