A man driving a rented Home Depot truck struck several pedestrians in downtown Manhattan on Tuesday, killing at least eight people and injuring at least 12 more. "Let me be clear that based on the information we have at this moment, this was an act of terror," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news conference Tuesday.
The driver steered his vehicle down a bike path adjacent to the Hudson River, near Chambers Street, officials said, before colliding with a school bus from nearby Stuyvesant High School. He then confronted authorities with "imitation firearms" and was subsequently shot by police. He is in custody and has been taken to a New York hospital. New York City Police Commissioner James O'Neill described the driver as a 29-year-old male, but said his identity was "not being released at this time, pending further investigation."
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) described the incident as the work of a "lone wolf" and said there is currently no evidence of a wider terrorist plot or ongoing threat targeting the city. O'Neill added that the driver "did make a statement" when he exited the truck, and that the statement — the contents of which he did not elaborate on — in conjunction with the manner of attack led authorities to define the incident as an act of terror.
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A heavy police presence responded to the scene, including a bomb squad, and much of the nearby West Side Highway remains blocked off. Home Depot said it is cooperating with authorities. NYPD is investigating the incident along with its state and federal partners, de Blasio said. Kimberly Alters
This is a breaking news story that will be updated as more details become available.
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