New York terror attack: What we know so far

Moneycontrol News

A man in a rental truck killed eight people and injured 11 others, including two children, when he ran over pedestrians and cyclists while speeding through a bike lane in Lower Manhattan.

Among the ones killed, six persons were pronounced dead on the spot, and two others later died in a hospital where the injured persons were taken, Commissioner O'Neill told the media. Incidentally, the attack location was near the 9/11 memorial—a constant reminder of terrorism to Americans.

The suspect in the attack is 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov who came from Uzbekistan to the United States in 2010. He is a resident of New Jersey and drove for Uber, as per media reports.

Taxi aggregator Uber said Saipov had passed their background check; they are trying to provide authorities with all the information they have on the suspect.

A New York City police officer shot the attacker in the abdomen and he has gone through surgery.

There is a lot of contention about the attacker being a part of terrorist outfit ISIS.

As per a New York Times article, two officials claimed investigators had found handwritten notes in Arabic near the white pickup truck of the attacker, and the note implied a connection to Islamic State. Another law enforcement officer told CNN that they had found a note saying the act was done for ISIS, but it was written in English. However, anything about such a note has not been confirmed by authorities yet.

On Tuesday night, law enforcement officials investigated an apartment building near Genessee and Getty Avenues that was believed to be Saipov’s home, the New York Times reported.

On the other hand, a source today told Reuters that Saipov was not a US citizen and his immigration status was not yet clear to the authorities.

While Mayor Bill de Blasio called the incident an “act of terror”, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said at a briefing, “There’s no evidence that suggests a wider plot or a wider scheme.”

After the attack, President Donald Trump tweeted a condemning message for ISIS before he condoled the victims.

We must not allow ISIS to return, or enter, our country after defeating them in the Middle East and elsewhere. Enough!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2017

According to the Guardian, NY police officials have not yet released details of any possible motive behind the attack; other elected officials in the government have not mentioned ISIS in their public statements as well.

Argentina's Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared on Twitter that five Argentinians were among the killed persons.