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The electric vehicle used by the alleged New Orleans terrorist to plow into a crowd of revelers celebrating the New Year on Bourbon Street has sparked a mystery after a hidden object was spotted on the back of the SUV.
Ten people were killed and 30 others injured after the white Ford SUV drove into pedestrians ringing in 2025 in New Orleans’ French Quarter Wednesday around 3.50am.
Following the horrific tragedy, an image of what appears to be a flagpole on the back of the unidentified driver’s truck circulated online, sparking mass speculation.
Photos taken after the collision show what appears to be a metallic gray jacket wrapped around a flagpole, but a video shot earlier in the morning shows what appears to be a black flag dangling from the same ‘pole’.
It is unclear if it was placed there before or after the heinous attack.
The unnamed gunman was killed in a shootout with officers after he exited his vehicle and started shooting, injuring two NOLA police officers who are in stable condition.
Authorities investigating the ‘mass casualty incident’ say the driver showed ‘very intentional behavior’ after driving into crowds before they got out and fired a weapon.
Officials said an improvised explosive device was found in the area. Around 8.30am a ‘small explosion’ went off in the quarter. It was detonated by the bomb squad, WLWT’s Steven Albritton reported.
New Orleans mayor LaToya Cantrell said she had spoken to the White House about what she described as a ‘terrorist attack’. The FBI has confirmed they are investigating the tragedy ‘as an act of terrorism’.
After an unidentified man plowed into a crowd of people around 3.50am Wednesday, a picture circulated online of what appeared to be a flag pole with a gray object resembling a coat wrapped around it
The object, believed to be a puffer jacket, was seen draped over the ‘pole’
Ten people have been killed and 30 others injured after the white Ford SUV drove into pedestrians ringing in 2025 in New Orleans’ French Quarter
Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said the suspect was ‘hellbent on creating carnage.’ No information about his identity has been released. Federal agents will now lead the investigation into the attack.
Witnesses claim the suspect was ‘wearing full body armor’ and ‘armed with an assault rifle’, and officials said he was ‘trying to run over as many people as he possibly could’.
Videos circulating on social media showed a chaotic scene at the tourist hotspot as people ran from the casualty-strewn area while bullets rang out in the background.
Dozens of police officers have responded to what authorities have declared a ‘mass casualty event’ and a portion of the road has been cordoned off. Paramedics, ambulances and vehicles from the coroner’s office were also seen at the scene.
Ambulances have transported the wounded to five area hospitals, the city added, and the FBI have taken over the ongoing investigation.
Videos circulating on social media that appear to have been recorded at the scene shows multiple casualties on the ground as shots ring out in the background. People were also seen running from the area
A man, who claimed to witness the incident while out with his wife, wrote on X that he saw the SUV ‘speeding’ down the road and ‘running people over’.
Another alleged witness told WLWT that she saw the vehicle strike the crowd and multiple officers open fire at the suspect. She says she started running and only escaped ‘by the grace of god’.
Kevin Garcia, 22, said the car was ‘slamming into everyone on the left side of Bourbon sidewalk’. He heard gunshots ring out and claims a ‘body came flying at me’, CNN reported.
Whit Davis, a 22-year-old witness from Shreveport, Louisiana, said he was in a nightclub when the attack unfolded. He recalled how people ‘started running and hiding under tables’ in a scene that resembled ‘an active shooter drill’.
Police then held him and a group of partygoers in the bar, Davis told BBC, noting that when they were finally allowed to leave the establishment that they ‘were walking past dead and injured bodies all over the street’.
At a press conference, New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell described the incident as a ‘terrorist attack’, which prompted the FBI to say shortly later that the bureau was not treating it as a terrorist attack.
New Orleans mayor LaToya Cantrell said she had spoken to the White House about what she described as a ‘terrorist attack’. The FBI later said they are investigating the incident ‘as an act of terrorism’.
Officials said an improvised explosive device was found in the area. Around 8.30am a ‘small explosion’ went off in the quarter. It was detonated by the bomb squad
Bourbon Street, famous for its many bars and clubs, has reportedly been shut down while investigators work the scene. People are advised to stay away from the area.
‘The 8th District is currently working a mass casualty incident involving a vehicle that drove into a large crowd on Canal and Bourbon Street,’ NOLA Ready, the city’s official disaster preparedness agency, said in a statement.
‘There are 30 injured patients that have been transported by NOEMS (New Orleans Emergency Medical Services) and 10 fatalities. Public safety partners are responding on scene. Updates will follow as they are received.’
The incident came toward the end of New Year’s celebrations in New Orleans and hours before the kickoff of the AllState Bowl, a college football quarter final held in the city’s Caesars Superdome, with thousands expected to be in attendance.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry has condemned the ‘horrific’ attack and said he is ‘praying for all the victims and first responders on scene’.
‘A horrific act of violence took place on Bourbon Street earlier this morning,’ Landry tweeted. ‘Please join Sharon and I in praying for all the victims and first responders on scene. I urge all near the scene to avoid the area.’
