Ten people were killed and at least 35 injured by a man who drove a pick-up truck into a crowd of New Year’s revellers in New Orleans.

The man exited his vehicle after crashing it into the crowd and opened fire, injuring several dozen, among them two police officers. The suspect was shot dead by police at the scene.

Where did the attack happen?

The incident took place at 3.15am on New Year’s Day in the city’s world-famous French Quarter at the intersection of Canal and Bourbon Streets. Police said the driver swerved around bollards in order to carry out the attack.

It occurred just hours before New Orleans was set to host a famous American football game, the so-called Sugar Bowl, a college quarter-final at the city’s Caesars Superdome.

What have authorities said?

The FBI said it was investigating the incident as an “act of terrorism”.

At a news conference, LaToya Cantrell, the New Orleans mayor, also described the killings as a “terrorist attack”.

Supt Anne Kirkpatrick, the city’s police chief, said: “It did involve a man driving a pickup truck down Bourbon Street at a very fast pace, and it was very intentional behaviour.

She continued: “This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could.”

Merrick Garland, the US attorney general, said: “My heart is broken for those who began their year by learning people they love were killed in this horrific attack.” He vowed to “deploy every available resource to conduct this investigation”.

The Department of Homeland Security is coordinating with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials in the wake of the incident and Joe Biden, the president, has also been briefed.