Authorities warned of vehicle-ramming attack danger in US during holiday season

(NEW ORLEANS, LA) — At least 10 people were killed and dozens injured after a man drove a pickup truck through a crowd celebrating New Year’s in New Orleans early Wednesday. The horrific attack came after authorities expressed concerns about vehicle-ramming during large outdoor events this holiday season.

In the weeks leading up to the holidays, federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies warned police around the country that low-tech vehicle-ramming was a key area of concern and that they needed to prepare.

On Dec. 6, the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and National Counterterrorism Center issued a joint intel bulletin warning law enforcement about the ongoing serious threat posed by lone offenders during the winter holiday season.

The bulletin noted that threat actors have “plotted and conducted attacks against holiday targets” in previous years, with likely targets including public places with “perceived lower levels of security” holding large gatherings or holiday events, and advised governments and law enforcement to “remain vigilant of these threats.”

“Lone offenders have historically used simple tactics, such as edged weapons, firearms, or vehicle ramming, due to their ease of access, ability to inflict mass casualties, and lack of required training,” the bulletin stated.

It cited a November 2021 vehicle-ramming attack that killed six people during a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, among recent incidents during the winter holiday.

In a Dec. 9 assessment for the Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration, federal and local agencies wrote that they “remain concerned about the use of vehicle ramming against high-profile outdoor events.”

“Vehicle ramming has become a recurring tactic employed by threat actors in the West, marked by a continued interest by (terrorists, extremists) and lone offenders in targeting crowded pedestrian areas,” they wrote.

In a Dec. 27 New Year’s Eve advisory issued in advance of the annual Las Vegas celebrations, officials noted: “Intentional mass-casualty incidents involving motor vehicles as weapons represent a growing trend in Western countries. This method has resulted in the highest casualty rates per incident within the fields of (intentional mass-casualty incidents).”

On Dec. 20, five people were killed and hundreds injured in a vehicle-ramming attack on a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg, officials said. Police believe the suspect — a doctor from Saudi Arabia who has lived in Germany since 2006 — acted alone.

The motive was preliminarily believed to be linked to “dissatisfaction with the treatment of refugees from Saudi Arabia and how they’ve been treated in Germany,” the local prosecutor said.

A motive in the New Orleans incident remains under investigation. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell described it as a “terrorist attack” and the FBI said it was being investigated as an act of terror.

The suspect was killed after opening fire on law enforcement officers, sources said. Explosive devices discovered in and around the scene on Bourbon Street were apparently found to be viable, multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News.

Investigators are working to determine whether the suspect entered the country recently and whether he had a connection to ISIS, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

Officials are also probing whether the suspect acted alone or had help from others in planning and executing the attack, Jason Williams, the district attorney of Orleans Parrish, which includes New Orleans, told ABC News. An investigation is underway on whether barricades along Bourbon Street were still up at the time of the attack, he said.

Coming out of the pandemic, law enforcement and intelligence leaders have been sounding alarms about the threat environment and dangers the public is facing from unknown assailants looking to attack large public events.

The New Orleans attack marks the third year in a row that New Year’s events in the U.S. have been marred by violence.

In 2022, a man prosecutors said intended to carry out a jihadist attack with a machete-style knife injured police officers at an access point near the Times Square event in New York City.

In 2023, an SUV loaded with gas cans crashed in front of a theater in Rochester, New York, where a New Year’s concert was being let out. Three people were killed, in addition to the driver of the SUV.

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