A driver ploughed a pickup truck down a crowded bike path along the Hudson river in Manhattan on Tuesday, killing eight people and injuring 11 before being shot by a police officer in what officials are calling the deadliest terrorist attack in New York City since September 11, 2001.
The rampage ended when the motorist — whom the police identified as Sayfullo Saipov of Uzbekistan — smashed into a school bus, jumped out of his truck and ran up and down the highway waving a pellet gun and paintball gun and shouting "Allahu akbar," Arabic for "God is great," before he was shot in the abdomen. He was in critical condition on Tuesday evening.
Saipov had been planning the attack for weeks and appeared to have connections to people who were subjects of terrorism investigations, police officials said on Wednesday. As counterterrorism investigators drilled into whether Saipov had meaningful ties to terrorist organisations, it also became clear that some of those close to the attacker had feared for years that he was heading down the path of extremism.
On Tuesday, mayor Bill de Blasio had declared the rampage a terrorist attack and federal law enforcement authorities were leading the investigation. Investigators had discovered handwritten notes in Arabic near the truck that indicated allegiance to Islamic State, two law enforcement officials said.
The month began with the Las Vegas mass shooting, which left 58 dead. But US President Donald Trump ruled out any move to limit gun ownership despite calls from across the country to do so.
His reaction to Tuesday's attack was a storm of tweets on Wednesday promising to tighten immigration controls, a key theme of his election campaign.
On Tuesday, New York mayor de Blasio said at a news conference, "Based on information we have at this moment, this was an act of terror, and a particularly cowardly act of terror aimed at innocent civilians."
Saipov came to the United States from Uzbekistan in 2010, and had a green card that allowed permanent legal residence. An official said Saipov rented a truck from a Home Depot in Passaic, NJ, where a white Toyota minivan believed to be his was found parked.
The truck came crashing to a stop near the corner of Chambers and West Streets by Stuyvesant High School. Sirus Minovi, 14, a freshman there who was hanging out with friends, said people scattered.
"We heard people screaming, 'gun' 'shooter' and 'run away,'" Sirus said. "We thought it was a Halloween prank." He realized it was not a joke when he saw the man staggering through the intersection, waving guns and screaming words he could not make out. A passerby approached the attacker, apparently trying to calm him, Sirus said, until the man realised the attacker had a gun. The man "put his hands up and was backing away", Sirus said.
Almost immediately, as investigators began to look into Saipov's history, it became clear that he had been on the radar of federal authorities.
Three officials said he had come to the federal authorities' attention as a result of an unrelated investigation, but it was not clear whether that was because he was a friend, an associate or a family member of someone under scrutiny or because he himself had been the focus of an investigation.
Over the last two years, a terrorism investigation by the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, the New York Police Department and federal prosecutors in Brooklyn resulted in charges against five men from Uzbekistan and one from Kazakhstan of providing material support to ISIS. Several of the men have pleaded guilty.
It is unclear whether Saipov was connected with that investigation. Martin Feely, a spokesman for the New York FBI office, declined to comment on whether Saipov was known to the bureau.
FBI agents were expected to search Saipov's home in Paterson, N.J., and his car on Tuesday night, a law enforcement official said. A phone, which was recovered at the scene of the attack, also would be searched, another official said.
The attack unfolded as nearby schools were letting out on a Halloween afternoon. It ended five blocks north of the World Trade Center. The driver left a roughly mile-long crime scene: a tree-lined bike path strewn with bodies, mangled bicycles and bicycle parts, from wheels twisted like pretzels to a dislodged seat.
Saipov, a slim, bearded man, was seen in videos running through traffic after the attack with a paintball gun in one hand and a pellet gun in the other. Six people died at the scene and two others died at a hospital, officials said. The authorities credited Officer Nash who fired nine shots at Saipov ending the attack, with saving lives. He was Johnny-on-the-spot and he takes the guy down," a city official said.
The rampage ended when the motorist — whom the police identified as Sayfullo Saipov of Uzbekistan — smashed into a school bus, jumped out of his truck and ran up and down the highway waving a pellet gun and paintball gun and shouting "Allahu akbar," Arabic for "God is great," before he was shot in the abdomen. He was in critical condition on Tuesday evening.
Saipov had been planning the attack for weeks and appeared to have connections to people who were subjects of terrorism investigations, police officials said on Wednesday. As counterterrorism investigators drilled into whether Saipov had meaningful ties to terrorist organisations, it also became clear that some of those close to the attacker had feared for years that he was heading down the path of extremism.
On Tuesday, mayor Bill de Blasio had declared the rampage a terrorist attack and federal law enforcement authorities were leading the investigation. Investigators had discovered handwritten notes in Arabic near the truck that indicated allegiance to Islamic State, two law enforcement officials said.
The month began with the Las Vegas mass shooting, which left 58 dead. But US President Donald Trump ruled out any move to limit gun ownership despite calls from across the country to do so.
His reaction to Tuesday's attack was a storm of tweets on Wednesday promising to tighten immigration controls, a key theme of his election campaign.
On Tuesday, New York mayor de Blasio said at a news conference, "Based on information we have at this moment, this was an act of terror, and a particularly cowardly act of terror aimed at innocent civilians."
Saipov came to the United States from Uzbekistan in 2010, and had a green card that allowed permanent legal residence. An official said Saipov rented a truck from a Home Depot in Passaic, NJ, where a white Toyota minivan believed to be his was found parked.
The truck came crashing to a stop near the corner of Chambers and West Streets by Stuyvesant High School. Sirus Minovi, 14, a freshman there who was hanging out with friends, said people scattered.
"We heard people screaming, 'gun' 'shooter' and 'run away,'" Sirus said. "We thought it was a Halloween prank." He realized it was not a joke when he saw the man staggering through the intersection, waving guns and screaming words he could not make out. A passerby approached the attacker, apparently trying to calm him, Sirus said, until the man realised the attacker had a gun. The man "put his hands up and was backing away", Sirus said.
Almost immediately, as investigators began to look into Saipov's history, it became clear that he had been on the radar of federal authorities.
Three officials said he had come to the federal authorities' attention as a result of an unrelated investigation, but it was not clear whether that was because he was a friend, an associate or a family member of someone under scrutiny or because he himself had been the focus of an investigation.
Over the last two years, a terrorism investigation by the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, the New York Police Department and federal prosecutors in Brooklyn resulted in charges against five men from Uzbekistan and one from Kazakhstan of providing material support to ISIS. Several of the men have pleaded guilty.
It is unclear whether Saipov was connected with that investigation. Martin Feely, a spokesman for the New York FBI office, declined to comment on whether Saipov was known to the bureau.
FBI agents were expected to search Saipov's home in Paterson, N.J., and his car on Tuesday night, a law enforcement official said. A phone, which was recovered at the scene of the attack, also would be searched, another official said.
The attack unfolded as nearby schools were letting out on a Halloween afternoon. It ended five blocks north of the World Trade Center. The driver left a roughly mile-long crime scene: a tree-lined bike path strewn with bodies, mangled bicycles and bicycle parts, from wheels twisted like pretzels to a dislodged seat.
Saipov, a slim, bearded man, was seen in videos running through traffic after the attack with a paintball gun in one hand and a pellet gun in the other. Six people died at the scene and two others died at a hospital, officials said. The authorities credited Officer Nash who fired nine shots at Saipov ending the attack, with saving lives. He was Johnny-on-the-spot and he takes the guy down," a city official said.
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