Fears of casualties after a car hit a crowd of people in New Orleans

CBS, the BBC’s news partner, reported that there were fears of several casualties in New Orleans after a car plowed into a crowd of people on the famous Bourbon Street.

A New Orleans police spokesman said that “initial reports show that a vehicle may have struck a group of people” in the early hours of New Year’s Day. The spokesman added that “deaths” had been reported.

A CBS reporter saw several people on the ground with injuries.

Witnesses told the organization that a car ran over a crowd of people, then the driver started shooting, prompting the police to return fire. The police did not confirm this report.

New Orleans state agency Nola Reedy said on social media that there had been a “mass casualty incident on Canal and Bourbon Street” and asked people nearby to “stay away from the area.”