Multiple fatalities after vehicle ploughs into New Orleans NYE crowd
Many hotels in the area had to be evacuated, according to Jason Williams, the district attorney for the city parish, leaving some tourists displaced.
As authorities continued to investigate the driver’s motives, President-elect Donald Trump issued a statement on Wednesday morning to attack Democrats and the media.
A police barricade near the scene after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans’ Canal and Bourbon Street.Credit: AP
“When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats and the Fake News Media, but it turned out to be true. The crime rate in our country is at a level that nobody has ever seen before,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“Our hearts are with all of the innocent victims and their loved ones, including the brave officers of the New Orleans Police Department. The Trump Administration will fully support the City of New Orleans as they investigate and recover from this act of pure evil!”
Trump’s statement came minutes after Fox News reported unnamed sources saying the driver’s truck had a licence plate from the neighbouring state of Texas, and that the vehicle had come through the border town of Eagle Pass two days ago.
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President Joe Biden is yet to comment on the matter, but the White House said in a statement that he had been briefed by the FBI, which is in charge of the investigation, and the Department of Homeland Security.
He also spoke by phone with New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell “to offer full federal support.”
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