New Orleans coroner says death toll now 15 from car attack

The death toll in the suspected terrorist attack in New Orleans involving a car ramming has risen to 15, several US media outlets reported, citing a statement from the city’s coroner, Dwight McKenna.

The number of deaths could rise further, McKenna told reporters.

It will take several days to perform autopsies on all the victims, the coroner was quoted as saying. Their names will only be released once all the autopsies have been completed and the relatives have been informed. The coroner’s office is working with local police, federal investigators from the FBI and the border patrol.

The perpetrator targeted the popular nightlife district for his attack.