New Orleans: Latest in deadly series of vehicle attacks
The Bourbon Street truck attack in New Orleans is just the latest in a long list of incidents in which vehicles have been used as deadly weapons. Germany and China have also seen similar attacks in recent months.
New Orleans, USA, January 1, 2025
A car plowed into a crowd of revelers in New Orleans early on New Year's Day, killing 10 people and injuring 35 others. The FBI said it was investigating the incident as an act of terrorism. The driver was killed in a shootout shortly after the attack, which occurred around 3:15 a.m. local time.
Magdeburg, Germany, December 20, 2024
At least five people were killed and more than 200 injured when a man drove a rented BMW SUV into a Christmas market in eastern Germany. The suspect, a 50-year-old doctor of Saudi Arabian origin who had expressed anti-Islamic views and supported the far-right AfD party, was arrested at the scene.
Zhuhai, China, November 11, 2024
A 62-year-old driver plowed a small SUV into a crowd exercising at a sports complex in southern China, killing at least 35 people and injuring 43 others in the country’s worst mass shooting in years. Authorities said the attacker was angry about his divorce but gave few details about his motive. He was arrested and sentenced to death in December 2024.
London, Canada, June 6, 2021
Four members of a Muslim family were walking when an attacker in a pickup truck killed them, in what Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called "an act of terror, motivated by hate." The attacker, a 23-year-old white nationalist, was sentenced to life in prison.
Toronto, Canada, April 23, 2018
A 25-year-old Canadian man drove a rented van into a crowd of mostly women on a major Toronto avenue, killing 10 people and injuring 16. He told police he belonged to an online “incel” community of emotionally frustrated men. He was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years.
New York, USA, October 31, 2017
An Uzbek man killed eight people and injured 12 others when he drove a rented truck onto a New York City bike path. Inspired by the call to action from the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS), he was sentenced to eight consecutive life sentences, plus 260 years.
Barcelona, Spain, August 17, 2017
A man drove a van into a crowd on Barcelona's busy Las Ramblas boulevard, killing 14 people and injuring many more. The so-called Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility, and other members of the same group carried out a similar attack in the resort town of Cambrils before being shot dead by police.
The perpetrator of the Ramblas attack was killed by police on August 21, 2017, after being on the run for several days.
Charlottesville, USA, August 12, 2017
A white supremacist who deliberately drove his car into a crowd of protesters at a “Unite the Right” rally, killing one woman and injuring dozens, has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.
London, UK, March-June 2017
2017 saw a series of vehicle attacks in London, starting on March 22 when a 52-year-old man drove an SUV into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, killing four people before stabbing a police officer to death.
The attacker, a Muslim convert, declared jihad in revenge for Western military interventions in Muslim countries. He was shot dead by police.
On June 3, 2017, three Islamist attackers drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge, then attacked people with knives in Borough Market. Eight people were killed before police killed all three attackers.
On June 19, 2017, a 47-year-old man radicalized by far-right ideology drove a van into a group of people praying outside a mosque in the Finsbury Park area, killing one person and injuring 15.
Melbourne, Australia, January 20, 2017
A car ploughed into a lunchtime crowd at a pedestrian mall in Australia’s second-largest city, killing six people and injuring more than 30. The attacker was found to be in a drug-induced psychotic state.
Berlin, Germany, December 19, 2016
A rejected asylum seeker from Tunisia hijacked a truck and plowed into a Christmas market in the German capital, killing 13 people and injuring dozens. He was shot dead by police days later in Italy. The terrorist group IS claimed responsibility for the attack.
Nice, France, July 14, 2016
A Tunisian man of French nationality drove a rented truck for nearly 2 km along a busy seaside road in Nice. The attack, which took place on France’s Bastille Day holiday, claimed the lives of 86 people, making it the deadliest attack of its kind.
