Tuesday, October 31, 2017

TERRORIST HORROR: NYC 'terror' attack leaves 8 dead, several injured

By Nicole Darrah | Fox News


At least eight people are dead after a driver barreled into a bike path and crashed a rental pickup truck into a crowd in Lower Manhattan Tuesday afternoon.

Police have identified the suspect who killed eight people and injured 11 more in New York City on Tuesday when he barreled into a bike path and then rammed a pickup truck into a crowd.
The suspected driver, 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov, shouted "Allahu Akbar" after the crash, law enforcement officials tell Fox News. Saipov, who was shot by police, was taken into custody and remains hospitalized.
 
The suspect in Tuesday's terror attack in New York City was driving a Home Depot rental truck when he plowed down a group of pedestrians near the World Trade Center.  (AP Photo)

The suspect was from Uzbekistan and had a green card, a source told Fox News. According to The Associated Press, Saipov has a Florida license but may have been living in New Jersey, and came to the U.S. in 2010.
Saipov, according to the New York Post, had notes inside his rental truck that were handwritten in Arabic, "along with either a flag of the [Islamic State] symbol or a smaller picture of the flag."
Four of the injured were teachers and students who were riding on a short yellow school bus near Stuyvesant High School when they were hit by the suspect's Home Depot rental truck. One student remains in critical condition.
A victim killed in the attack was a Belgian citizen, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister of Belgium Didier Reyners tweeted on Tuesday. Three Belgians were also injured.
Others killed in the attack were Argentine citizens, according to Argentina's Foreign Ministry. Argentine newspaper La Nacion reported five of the eight people killed were from Argentina.
The incident was being treated as a terrorist attack. At a news conference Tuesday evening, Mayor Bill de Blasio called the attack "an act of terror and a particularly cowardly act of terror aimed at innocent civilians."
Gov. Andrew Cuomo referred to the incident as a "lone wolf" attack, and added that at this point in the investigation, there is no evidence to suggest that there was a wider plot.
Around the globe, cities have been on high alert regarding vehicle attacks. ISIS has been encouraging its followers to mow down people, and England, France and Germany have all seen deadly vehicle attacks in recent months and years.
FBI officials confirmed to Fox News that they have agents responding to the situation with the NYPD. A bomb squad examined the truck, but found no explosives.
Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke said in a statement that "DHS and its law enforcement partners remain vigilant and committed to safeguarding the American people."
Following the incident, President Donald Trump tweeted, "looks like another attack by a very sick and deranged person. Law enforcement is following this closely. NOT IN THE U.S.A.!"
Trump later tweeted that his "thoughts, condolences and prayers to the victims and families of the New York City terrorist attack. God and your country are with you!"
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My thoughts, condolences and prayers to the victims and families of the New York City terrorist attack. God and your country are with you!
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Police said the truck entered the bike path on West Street a few blocks from the new World Trade Center -- the site of the deadliest terror attack in U.S. history -- and plowed into several people. The driver jumped out of his rental truck -- which police say Saipov rented from Home Depot around 2 p.m. Tuesday -- carrying what turned out to be a paintball gun and a pellet gun.
Video of the attack provided to Fox News by a witness shows the accused suspect running through traffic on the West Side Highway, surrounded by police in the nearby area.
Despite the attack, the city's Halloween Parade went on as planned, with police "dramatically increasing presence," including "personnel, blocker trucks, long guns etc.," according to De Blasio's press secretary. Cuomo and de Blasio both attended the annual event.
Fox News' Jake Gibson, Catherine Herridge, Rick Leventhal and The Associated Press contributed to this report.