Panic in Manhattan: What we know so far about the New York attack
DETAILS are starting to emerge about the ‘very sick and deranged person’ police believe killed at least eight people in a New York truck attack as President Trump orders security chiefs to step up the nation’s extreme vetting program. Here’s what we know.
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DETAILS are starting to emerge about the ‘very sick and deranged person’ police believe killed at least eight people in a New York truck attack as President Trump orders security chiefs to step up the nation’s extreme vetting program.
Sayfullo Saipov, 29, had notes written in Arabic inside his rented ute along with either an Islamic State flag or a smaller picture of a flag, law enforcement sources told The New York Post.
The handwritten notes indicated that he had pledged allegiance to the terror group, the sources said.
Here’s what we know so far.
■ The attack
The attacker drove a ute 100km/h the wrong way down a bike path at Battery Park City near the World Trade Centre site at 3.15pm local time. He struck cyclists and pedestrians before colliding with a school bus. Then, armed with a paintball gun and a pellet gun, left the ute and charged through the streets.
■ 8 dead, 12 wounded
NYC Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said six males pronounced dead at the scene while “two others transported in traumatic arrest were pronounced dead at hospital. We also transported 11 people, all with serious, but at this moment, not life-threatening injuries.”
■ No Aussies involved
Acting PM and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop is urging Australians in New York to stay safe and contact their loved ones.
■ Terror confirmed
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio told a media conference the attack was a “cowardly act of terror aimed at innocent people...who had no idea what was about to hit them.”
■ Suspect alive and identified
Suspect, named as Sayfullo Saipov, an Uzbekistan national with a Florida drivers licence was shot twice following rampage near the World Trade Centre site. A paintball gun and pellet gun were recovered from the scene.
■ Trump being updated
Tweets: ‘Looks like another attack by a very sick and deranged person. Law enforcement is following this closely. NOT IN THE U.S.A.!
■ Act condemned
NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo calls it ‘lone wolf” attack. He says there’s no evidence to suggest it was part of a wider plot.
I have just ordered Homeland Security to step up our already Extreme Vetting Program. Being politically correct is fine, but not for this!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 1, 2017
Witnesses said parents had been preparing for the evening’s Halloween celebrations with their kids when they claimed they heard Saipov shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ before he was shot in the stomach by police.
Moments before he had driven his vehicle at over 100 km/h onto a busy Manhattan bike path before it smashed into a school bus, fatally injuring eight and injuring another 12 people.
Australia’s Consul-General to New York Alastair Walton was in the area along the Hudson River when the attack happened.
“He said there are children everywhere in New York today because of course it’s Halloween and it’s an enormous celebration,” Acting PM Julie Bishop said.
“We think of those who have been affected by this, particularly those who have been killed, their family and friends must be devastated.”
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said: “Based on the information we have at this moment, this was an act of terror and a particularly cowardly act of terror.
“We know of eight innocent people who have lost their lives and over a dozen more injured.”
Police Commissioner James O’Neill said the 29-year-old suspect was shot in the stomach by officers after brandishing what appeared to be a pellet gun and paint ball gun and taken into custody.
WE THOUGHT NEW YORK ATTACKER WAS DRESSED FOR HALLOWEEN
Witnesses told police the man, identified by ABC and CBS News as Sayfullo Saipov, an Uzbekistan national with a Florida drivers licence, had shouted “allahu akbar” as he got out of the vehicle.
The man also hit a school bus, that was carrying two adults and two children, before he drove onto the bike path. Dramatic images showed mangled bikes left strewn across the pavement, while two bodies could be seen lying under a tarp.
Witnesses described a scene of panic and blood, with people screaming in fear and the path strewn with bodies and mangled bicycles.
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.!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2017
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says President Donald Trump has been briefed by White House chief of staff John Kelly and “will be continually updated as more details are known.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected,” she said.
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 mowed down several people. The truck also slammed into a small yellow school bus, injuring two adults and two children.
A paintball gun and a pellet gun were found at the scene, police said.
The attack closed roads across the western edge of Manhattan along the Hudson River and sent uniformed officers rushing to the neighborhood as people prepared for Halloween festivities, including an annual parade through Greenwich Village.
Eugene Duffy, 43, a chef at a waterfront restaurant, said he was crossing West Street when he heard something, turned back and saw the white pickup on the bike path.
After seeing the mangled bikes, he ran south, seeing the school bus that appeared to have been T-boned, and officers at the scene, guns drawn, ducked behind patrol cars.
“So many police came and they didn’t know what was happening,” Duffy said. “People were screaming. Females were screaming at the top of their lungs.”
Watch as @NYCMayor, @NYPDONeill, @NYGovCuomo, @FDNY & @NewYorkFBI update New Yorkers on incident in Lower Manhattan. https://t.co/AOgsR8BEaK
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) October 31, 2017
“This was an act of terror, and a particularly cowardly act of terror aimed at innocent civilians,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
At least two bodies could be seen lying on the path beneath tarps, and the front end of the pickup was smashed in.
Tom Gay, a school photographer, was on Warren Street and heard people saying there was an accident. He went down to West Street and a woman came around the corner shouting, “He has a gun! He has a gun!” Gay said he stuck his head around the corner and saw a slender man in a blue track suit running southbound on West Street holding a gun.