Authorities and residents in Hawaii are wondering whether a New Year's Eve explosion that killed three people and wounded more…
WATCH LIVE: Biden speaks after truck attack in New Orleans kills more than a dozen
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A driver behind the wheel of a pickup truck rammed into a crowd of New Orleans revelers on Bourbon Street early on New Year's Day, killing at least 15 people in what the FBI is investigating as an act of terrorism.
President Biden is scheduled to speak about the New Orleans truck attack. Watch his address in the player above.
After the vehicle stopped, the driver emerged from the truck and opened fire on responding officers, New Orleans police said.
Here is the latest:
Death toll now stands at 15
The New Orleans coroner now says 15 people were killed when a driver deliberately struck people in the French Quarter early on New Year's Day.
Authorities previously said 10 had died. The driver was fatally shot by police.
The coroner, Dr. Dwight McKenna, says it will take several days to conduct autopsies. Once those are done and relatives are notified, officials will release the victims' names, McKenna said in a statement.
FBI has been warning about an elevated terrorism threat
If confirmed as inspired by the Islamic State, the attack would represent the deadliest such assault on U.S. soil in years. The militant group's flag was on the trailer hitch of the truck involved in the New Orleans attack, according to the FBI.
FBI officials have repeatedly warned about an elevated international terrorism threat due to the Israel-Hamas war.
In the last year, the FBI has disrupted other potential attacks inspired by the militant group, including in October when agents arrested an Afghan man in Oklahoma accused of plotting an Election Day attack targeting large crowds.
Driver in New Orleans attack had served in the US Army
The driver in the attack in New Orleans previously served in the Army.
A U.S. official said Shamsud-Din Jabbar got out of the Army in 2015 but it was not clear if he went into the Reserve after that. He served as an information technology specialist, the official said. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details that had not yet been made public.
— By Tara Copp in Washington.
A Baton Rouge father was killed in the New Orleans attack
A 37-year-old father of two from Baton Rouge was among the 10 people killed.
Reggie Hunter had just left work and was headed with a cousin to celebrate New Year's when the attack happened, his first cousin Shirell Jackson told Nola.com.
Hunter was killed and his cousin was injured, Jackson said.
Officials have not yet released the names of the victims, but their families and friends are talking about them.
Road closed leading to suspect's recent address
Law enforcement officers have closed off a road leading to a Houston residence that records indicate was a recent address of the suspect in the New Orleans attack.
The white mobile home was behind a gate and in a small neighborhood where goats and ducks were roaming the grass.
18-year-old who wanted to be a nurse is among the victims in New Orleans, friend says
A Mississippi man who was celebrating New Year's Eve in New Orleans says his friend who dreamed of becoming a nurse was among the people killed in an attack on Bourbon Street.
Zion Parsons, 18, said a vehicle suddenly appeared and he watched it hit his friend, 18-year-old Nikyra Dedeaux. At least 10 people were killed.
Parsons described the crowd scattering and the gruesome aftermath.
"Bodies, bodies all up and down the street, everybody screaming and hollering" Parsons said.
He said he watched as authorities put a tarp over Dedeaux's body. He later called Dedeaux's family to tell them what had happened.
"I hadn't had time to cry up until I called her mother and she asked me, 'Where's my baby'," Parsons said. "That broke me."