New Orleans. A driver in a pickup truck who officials said was “hell-bent on carnage” sped through a crowd of pedestrians in New Orleans’ bustling French Quarter district, killing 10 and injuring 30 in an act being investigated as a New Year’s Day terrorist attack.

Law enforcement officials have told The Associated Press that the suspect in the New Orleans crash that killed 10 people and injured 30 was killed after a firefight with police.

At a news conference, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell described the killings as a “terrorist attack” and the city’s police chief said the act was clearly intentional. But an assistant FBI agent in charge declared that it was "not a terrorist event.” The news conference ended before authorities could reconcile the two characterizations.

The attack occurred around 3:15 a.m. Wednesday along Bourbon Street, known worldwide as one of the largest destinations for New Year’s Eve parties, and with crowds in the city ballooning in anticipation for the Sugar Bowl college football playoff game at the nearby Superdome later in the day.

“He was hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did,” said Police Commissioner Anne Kirkpatrick. She said police officers would work to ensure safety at the Sugar Bowl, indicating that the game would go on as scheduled.

“It was very intentional behavior. This man was trying to run over as many people as he could,” Kirkpatrick said.

Officials did not immediately provide an update on the status of the driver, whether there was an ongoing threat to the public or offer a suspected motive in the fatal incident at the city's famed Canal and Bourbon Street early Wednesday.

Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, said officials were investigating the discovery of at least one suspected improvised explosive device at the scene.

Officials did not immediately provide an update on the status of the driver, whether there was an ongoing threat to the public, or offer a suspected motive.

NOLA Ready, the city's emergency preparedness department, said the injured had been taken to five local hospitals. A police officer was among the injured.

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