A man who was “hell-bent” on creating carnage has ploughed his ute through a New Year’s crowd in New Orleans and then opened fire in a suspected act of terrorism.

At least 15 people were killed when the white Ford pickup truck rammed people on the street in the city’s famous French Quarter about 3.15am Wednesday (local time).

Thirty-five people were injured, including two law enforcement officers.

The FBI said the suspect, identified as US citizen Shamsud-Din Jabbar, from Texas, exited the vehicle and triggered a shootout with law enforcement.

The suspect, described by one city leader as being in “full military gear,” died after the shootout, law enforcement officials said.

Witnesses described bodies lying everywhere and blood-curdling screams as the horror unfolded in the tourist district known for its bars and music.

“This man was trying to run over as many people as he could,” said police chief Anne Kirkpatrick at a press conference.

“He was hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did.”

The FBI named the suspect as Texas man Shamsud-Din Jabbar. Photo: Supplied

The FBI said it was investigating the incident as a potential act of terrorism and believed the suspect may not have been acting alone.

An Islamic State flag was discovered inside the ute. Weapons and a potential explosive device were also found in the subject’s vehicle.

Other potential explosive devices were located in the French Quarter, said the FBI.

“The FBI’s special agent bomb technicians are working with our law enforcement partners to determine if any of these devices are viable, and they will work to render those devices safe.”

The white Ford ute turned onto a side street in the French Quarter. Photo: AAP

The incident occurred at the intersection of Canal and Bourbon Streets — a historical tourist destination in the city’s French Quarter known for attracting large crowds with its music and bars.

One graphic video posted to X showed two bodies lying twisted on the street, one with a pool of blood around its head.

More than 300 officers were on duty at the time of the incident, police said.

“From what I understand, there is a potential that other suspects could be involved in this, and all hands on deck on determining who these individuals are and finding them,” New Orleans City Council president Helena Moreno told 4WWLTV.

“Information that I received is that this individual was in full military gear, that he is apparently not local, and that he was prepared, and that he was very prepared to inflict horrific pain on the people on Bourbon Street,” Moreno said.

The scene of the New Orleans attack in daylight. Photo: AAP

“A horrific act of violence took place on Bourbon Street earlier this morning,” Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said on X, urging people to stay away from the area where the attack took place.

A couple told CBS News that they heard crashing noises coming from down the street and then saw a white truck slam through a barricade “at a high rate of speed”.

Zion Parsons, 18, told NOLA.com that he and his two friends were leaving a Bourbon Street eatery when they heard a commotion and saw a white car barrelling towards them.

He said he dodged the vehicle but one of his friends was struck, with her leg “twisted and contorted above and around her back”.

“You can just look and see bodies, just bodies of people, just bleeding, broken bones,” he said.

US President Joe Biden called the city’s mayor to offer full federal support, the White House said in a statement.

Biden said the FBI was investigating the “horrific incident” as “an act of terrorism” and that he has directed his team to ensure every resource is available as authorities work to “get to the bottom of what happened as quickly as possible”.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland said the “country woke up this morning to news of a terrible tragedy in New Orleans”.

He said federal law enforcement agencies would “deploy every available resource to conduct this investigation”.

President-elect Donald Trump said in a statement that his incoming administration would “fully support the City of New Orleans as they investigate and recover from this act of pure evil!”.

Last month in Germany, a 50-year-old man was charged with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder after police said he plowed a car through crowds at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, killing five people and injuring scores.

-with Reuters/AAP