«A body flew at me, others were on the ground torn apart by the tires of thekiller’s car while all around the cries of pain of the wounded rang out.”
Dramatic moments told by the witnesses of the New Orleans massacreamong the still terrified looks for that evening, which began as a normal one New Year’s Eve partywhich turned into a nightmare in just a few seconds.
«All I saw was a pickup that threw itself at everyone on the left side of the sidewalk in Bourbon,” said Kevin Garcia, 22, speaking to CNN shortly after the massacre. “A body flew at me,” he continues, still in shock.
Witnesses to the carnage: Panic on Bourbon Street
Another witness, Jimmy Cothran, who lives in New Orleans for 15 years, he told CNN that he had taken refuge in a nightclub on Bourbon Street shortly after the shooting. «It was 3 in the morning. After my friend and I entered the nightclub, a group of women came running and pushed the club’s security guards to hide under the tables. We ran upstairs.”
Here, after looking out from the balcony, they saw the scenes of carnage: «We counted 8 bodies including that of a woman on the pavement in a contorted position, a crushed man and a girl who shortly before was dancing in the street celebrating the arrival of the new year, with a torn belly. These are scenes that I will never be able to forget.”
Scenes of terror during the New Year’s Eve party
Whit Davis, 22, of Shreveport, Louisiana, was at a nightclub on Bourbon Street: «Everyone started screaming and running towards the back of the club. We were stuck for a while. When we finally got the all clear, the police told us to get out quickly. I saw some corpses that they couldn’t cover and many people being rescued by paramedics,” he added.
«We heard some shotswe saw the police running in that direction,” said Nicole Mowrer, who was with her husband Jim at the time of the massacre. “There were moments of panic, people remained immobilized by fear and sought shelter as best they could.”
The tragedy during the Sugar Bowl
Another witness, Paul S., told ABC News that he was awakened by the shots while he was sleeping in his hotel room, thinking they were fireworks. «When I looked out, I saw the corpses lying next to garbage cans and people running to help,” he said, shocked.
Moments of terror in the quiet French Quarter of New Orleanscrowded as well as by the many who arrived to celebrate New Year’salso by the fans who came to attend one of the most important sporting events in the city, the Sugar Bowl of college football, with the teams of Notre Dame and of University of Georgia on the field on New Year’s Day at the Superdome. And precisely on New Year’s Eve those streets which have now become the scene of the massacre had hosted the ritual parade of the teams.