Eight killed in New York attack
At least eight people have been killed and 11 others injured after a man in a rented pick-up truck drove on to a busy bicycle path near the World Trade Center memorial in New York.
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio labelled the attack a “cowardly act of terror”. The 29-year-old driver was shot by police officers after jumping out of the truck with what turned out to be a paintball and pellet gun. He was taken into custody.
A man in a rented pick-up truck has driven on to a busy bicycle path near the World Trade Center memorial in New York, killing at least eight people and injuring 11 others in what authorities have described as a terrorist attack.
The 29-year-old driver was shot by police in the abdomen after jumping out of the truck with what turned out to be a paintball and pellet gun. The man was taken into custody.
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio labelled the attack a “cowardly act of terror”. He said: “We know that this action was intended to break our spirit, but we also know New Yorkers are strong, New Yorkers are resilient and our spirit will never be moved by an act of violence and an act meant to intimidate us.
“We have been tested before as a city very near the site of today’s tragedy and New Yorkers do not give in, in the face of these kinds of actions.”
Witnesses described a scene of panic and blood, with people screaming in fear and the path strewn with bodies and mangled bicycles.
Police said the vehicle – a rented Home Depot truck – entered the bike path on West Street a few blocks from the new World Trade Center and struck at least 15 people. The truck also slammed into a small yellow school bus, injuring two adults and two children.
The New York Police Department and the FBI are investigating the incident.
US president Donald Trump, who was briefed on the attack, tweeted: “In NYC, looks like another attack by a very sick and deranged person. Law enforcement is following this closely. NOT IN THE U.S.A.!”