Witnesses describe scenes of carnage after New Orleans attack that killed 10 and injured 30

Witnesses described scenes of carnage after a car-ramming attack early Wednesday morning on Bourbon Street in New Orleans left at least 10 people dead and 30 injured.

According to a New Orleans superintendent, the suspect, who has not yet been identified, allegedly “wanted to kill as many people as possible” by steering a pickup truck around barricades and into crowds of people welcoming the New Year. Police Anne Kirkpatrick.

One witness, Paul S., who asked ABC News to withhold his full name, said he watched the fireworks display and returned to the hotel and went to bed around 2 a.m. ET. A little over an hour later, he was awakened by cracking sounds.

“We heard a ‘pop, pop, pop, pop’ sound followed by what sounded like fireworks going off, like a big firework all at once, and it turned out to be an accident,” he said.

Paul said he looked through the curtains to see what was happening and saw police officers telling people in the buildings to stay inside. He then went out onto the balcony and began recording the aftermath of the attack.

“There was garbage strewn on the sidewalks, there were bodies lying next to garbage cans and people were rushing to help,” he said. “There were… these really bright lights on Bourbon Street… and it lit up the scene where you could look up and down the block and see it was completely empty except for the bodies lying on the ground.”

“The only detail that makes me feel the worst is the man in the wheelchair who apparently got knocked out of it and fell to the ground in pain. It’s right next to where the parking lot ended,” Paul added.

Paul said he didn’t see the suspect but did see four bullet holes in the back window of the pickup truck allegedly used in the attack.

Another witness, Jimmy Cothran, told ABC News’ Morgan Norwood that he and his group had entered the Bourbon Street nightclub when the commotion began.

Shortly after he entered the club, he said five girls ran “frantically” and hid under chairs.

Cothran said he ran upstairs to the club’s balcony and witnessed “mangled bodies as far as he could see. We counted 10 of them, and at least six visibly died instantly. Some were definitely dead, but others were screaming. .. It’s a lot to process.”

Cothran added that he saw bodies with tire marks on the street.

“The way the bodies were disfigured looked like something out of a movie,” he said. “These people will never wake up.”

Law enforcement officials say the suspect fired a gun while mowing down people. Authorities said he was shot and killed by police when he exited his vehicle with an assault rifle.

ABC News’ Aaron Katersky and Josh Margolin contributed to this report.