Photo: MATTHEW HINTON / AFP / Getty Images
UPDATE: FBI spokesperson Alethea Duncan confirms the suspect in the terror attack on New Orleans is identified as 42-year-old Shamsud Din Jabbar, who was a U.S-born citizen from Texas.
An ISIS flag was found on the trailer hitch of the pickup truck that he used to kill at least 15 people and injure dozens more.
She said weapons and IEDs were located in the vehicle and others were found around the city. The agency says they were placed there by other suspects and is calling this an act of terrorism.
Duncan said that after the man drove through the crowd, he exchanged fire with two police officers.
They returned fire and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Two officers were injured and taken to local hospitals.
ORIGINAL STORY:
New Orleans authorities say a driver who crashed his Ford F-150 truck into a large crowd of people on Bourbon Street this morning is dead – killed in a shootout with police.
The FBI has taken over the investigation which they believe to be terrorism that killed fifteen people and injured dozens more.
New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell told reporters this morning the incident on Bourbon Street was a “terrorist attack.”
There are also reports that at least one improvised explosive device has been found and rendered inert by a bomb squad in the French Quarter.
Officials say about 3:15 this morning a white pickup truck with Texas license plates drove around barricades and plowed into a large crowd along Bourbon Street.
Police say the driver was “hell bent” on injuring as many people as possible.
During the melee gunfire was exchanged between the driver and police, and officials say at least two officers were wounded and the driver was killed.
Thousands of football fans are in New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl featuring Notre Dame and the University of Georgia.
Also, New Orleans is the host city of this year's Super Bowl.