Suspect ‘wanted to kill as many people as he could,’ complaint alleges
NEW YORK — The suspected terrorist in the Manhattan truck attack told investigators he “felt good” about carrying out the crime that left eight dead and a dozen injured, and he also asked to display flags of the ISIS terrorist group in his hospital room, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday.
The latest revelations in the Halloween attack come as investigators try to piece together the weeks leading up to the attack, in which Sayfullo Saipov, a 29-yearold truck driver from Uzbekistan, is accused of ramming a rented Home Depot truck into a crowded walkway and bike path.
Saipov had meticulously planned the attack and left a note in his vehicle pro-
claiming that the “Islamic State would endure forever,” law enforcement authorities said. Saipov was shot by police immediately after the attack but is expected to survive.
In a hospital bed interview with authorities, Saipov “requested to display ISIS’s flag in his hospital room and stated that he felt good about what he had done,” the complaint stated.
Saipov was chargedwith providing material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization — ISIS — and violence and destruction of motor vehicles.
Saipov had two cellphones and a stun gun in the truck, according to statements in the two-count criminal complaint filed in Manhattan federal court by FBI Special Agent Amber Tyree.
After crashing the truck into a school bus, Saipov yelled “Allahu Akbar” — the Arabic words for God is Great, the complaint alleges.
Waiving his legal right to remain silent, Saipov told investigators during an interview at Bellevue Hospital that he was inspired to carry out an attack in the U.S. by ISIS videos he watched on his cellphone and began planning the attack approximately one year ago, the complaint said. Roughly two months ago he “decided to use a truck in order to inflict maximum damage against civilians,” the complaint said.
He was particularly motivated by a video in which ISIS leader Abu Bakr alBaghdadi questioned what Muslims in the U.S. were doing to avenge the killings of Muslims in Iraq, the complaint said.
The attack left bodies and smashed bicycles strewn along the Hudson River Greenway bike path just hours before New York’s vaunted Halloween parade began.
Saipov rented the truck from the Home Depot in Passaic, N.J., on Oct. 22 “so he could practice making turns” with the vehicle before the attack. He chose Tuesday for the actual attack date “because he believed there would be more civilians on the street for the holiday,” the complaint alleged.
“Saipov planned to use the truck to strike pedestrians in the vicinity of the West Side Highway and then proceed to the Brooklyn Bridge to continue to strike pedestrians,” the complaint charged. He “wanted to kill as many people as he could,” and he also “wanted to display ISIS flags in the front and back of the truck during the attack, but decided against it because he did not want to draw attention to himself,” the complaint alleged.
Also Wednesday, the FBI had said it was seeking another man in connection with the attack, and within a few hours, they found him. The man was identified in an FBI posting as Mukhammadzoir Kadirov. It’s unclear what relationship Kadirov has with Saipov.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday that the suspect had been “radicalized domestically” on behalf of the extremist organization.
Miller said Saipov was “never a subject” of any investigation by either the FBI or the NYPD. However, Saipov is believed to have had “some connectivity” to others who were the subjects of FBI and NYPD terror investigations, Miller said.
“This is not about Islam,” Miller said of the attack and continuing investigation after reporters asked whether investigators were checking mosques and other places connected to Saipov.
In Paterson, N.J., FBI agents hauled a trash bag out of Saipov’s apartment, which the father of three shared with his family. He had recently moved to the area, which is home to a large Muslim population.
Among the dead were five men from Argentina who were in New York City to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their graduation from high school. Twelve people suffered serious but non-lifethreatening injuries.
New York’s political and law enforcement leaders said security is being beefed up in New York, particularly for Sunday’s New York Marathon.