At least 15 killed, 35 injured as a truck driver ploughed into a crowd of people in New Orleans

New Orleans Coroner Dr. Dwight McKenna says the death toll has now risen to 15. He added that the identity of all those deceased will be released in the days to come after completing all the autopsies.

Early on Wednesday, a driver, who’s been identified by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, in a white Ford pickup truck drove through a crowd in New Orleans.

The US’ lead investigative agency says Jabbar exited the vehicle after hitting the crowd, and opened fired upon local law enforcement. After a short-lived gunfight, the attacker was shot dead and pronounced deceased.

Jabbar also injured two police officers who sustained gunshot wounds, but Police Commissioner Anne Kirkpatrick says they’re in stable condition.

“He was hell bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did,” said Kirkpatrick, adding that his behaviour was clearly intentional.

The FBI says they're investigating the attack as an "act of terrorism", and are working with partners on the local, state and federal level to “run down all leads and identify any possible associates of the subject”.

US President Joe Biden says the attack appears to have been inspired by the ISIS terror group.

“Mere hours before the attack, he posted videos on social media indicating that it is inspired by ISIS, expressing a desire to kill, desire to kill. The ISIS flag was found in his vehicle, which he rented to conduct this attack” said Biden in a press briefing regarding the attack.

The outgoing US president added that Jabbar, who was a US citizen born in Texas, served for many years in the US Army in active duty and until a few years ago in the Army Reserve.

Biden added that the situation is very fluid and indicated that investigations