Police chief Anne Kirkpatrick said at a televised news conference a driver intentionally drove into a crowd about 3.15am.
"This man was trying to run over as many people as he could," Kirkpatrick said.
"He was hell-bent on creating the carnage and damage that he did."
Kirkpatrick said the driver fired at police and struck two police officers after his vehicle crashed.
She said there were more than 300 officers that were on duty at the time of the incident.
Police chief Anne Kirkpatrick says a suspect was "trying to run over as many people as he could". (AP PHOTO)
She said the FBI will be taking over the investigation.
"A horrific act of violence took place on Bourbon Street earlier this morning," Louisiana governor Jeff Landry said on X, urging people to stay away from the area where the attack took place.
The injured have been taken to at least five different hospitals, according to NOLA Ready, the city's emergency preparedness department.
The incident occurred at the intersection of Canal and Bourbon Streets during New Year's Eve celebrations, the city said in a statement.
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.
Bourbon Street is a historical tourist destination in the city's French Quarter, known for attracting large crowds with its music and bars.
Authorities say a driver fired at police and struck two police officers after his truck crashed. (AP PHOTO)
A couple told CBS News that they heard crashing noises coming from down the street and they then saw a white truck slam through a barricade "at a high rate of speed".
At a news conference, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell described the killings as a "terrorist attack" 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 characterisations.
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.
New Orleans has been the scene of shootings and cars colliding with crowds at past parades.
In November 2024, two people were killed and 10 others injured in two separate shootings along a New Orleans parade route and celebration attended by thousands, local media reported.
In February 2017, a pick-up truck driven by a man who police said appeared to be highly intoxicated plowed into a crowd of spectators watching the main Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, injuring more than 20 people.
with Reuters
