Terror strikes New York: 8 dead in truck rampage
FIRST ATTACK AFTER 9/11 Uzbek attacker mows down people on cycle track in Manhattan; Trump tweets ‘Enough!’
WASHINGTON: An Uzbek man, apparently inspired by the Islamic State, ploughed a pickup truck through a bike path in Manhattan, killing eight people and injuring at least a dozen in the deadliest terror attack in New York City since 9/11.
Sayfullo Saipov, 29, was heard shouting “Allah-u-Akbar” during the rampage on Tuesday afternoon, witnesses said. He was shot in the abdomen by a police officer when he emerged from the truck after it collided with a school bus at 3.05 pm (1905 GMT), blocks away from the 9/11 Memorial. He was walking in the middle of the street brandishing two weapons, which turned out to be paintball and pellet guns. Saipov was in police custody and being treated at a hospital.
“This was an act of terror and a particularly cowardly act of terror aimed at innocent civilians, aimed at people going about their lives who had no idea what was about to hit them,” New York mayor Bill de Blasio told a news conference.
Governor Andrew Cuomo said, based on a preliminary investigations, this was a lone wolf attack carried out by the suspect acting alone. This was “one individual who meant to cause pain and harm and probably death and the resulting terror. That was the purpose.”
President Donald Trump tweeted about what was the first terror attack on the American mainland in his term, and in his hometown: “We must not allow ISIS to return, or enter, our country after defeating them in the Middle East and elsewhere. Enough!”
Trump also said he had directed his administration to “step up” extreme vetting.
Authorities did not disclose the attacker’s identity but news reports said Saipov came to the US in 2010 and had a green card. He had a Florida driver’s licence and had apparently been staying in New Jersey, from where he drove to neighbouring New York.
Saipov reportedly pledged loyalty to the IS in handwritten notes in Arabic found near the truck, the US media cited law enforcement officials as saying. It was not clear where he was radicalised, and investigators did not discover evidence showing direct ties between Saipov and the IS.
This was also the first instance of a terror attack in New York City involving fatalities after the 9/11 attacks that killed 2,606 people, including 34 from India.
A man driving a pickup truck in New York’s Manhattan ploughed through a crowd on a bike path, killing eight people and injuring 11 others. The incident took place close to the site of the September 11, 2001 memorial
Everything we know about the New York attacker SAYFULLO SAIPOV
The 29-year-old Uzbek national is an Uber driver living in New Jersey He moved to the US in 2010, first living in Florida Sources say Saipov was married on March 25, 2013 to another Uzbek, Nozima Odilova, in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio He used a rented Home Depot truck in the attack After he mowed down the pedestrians in New York, he jumped out with fake guns, shouting “Allahu Akbar” He was shot in the abdomen by police but is expected to survive
Reports say Saipov left notes near the truck claiming he committed the attack on behalf of Islamic State Uber said it reviewed Saipov's history and has not identified any complaints about his safety as a driver