Eight dead in New York truck attack
11 others injured after ‘act of terror’ on Manhattan bicycle path
Eight people have been killed and 11 others wounded after a driver struck pedestrians and cyclists along a bicycle path near the World Trade Centre in lower Manhattan, before crashing into a school bus.
The suspect then got out of the rented truck brandishing two “imitation weapons”, and was heard shouting “Allahu akbar,” Arabic for “God is great,” before he was shot in the abdomen by a police officer.
The man was taken into custody, and a pellet gun and a paintball gun were found at the scene.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“This was an act of terror, and a particularly cowardly act of terror aimed at innocent civilians, aimed at people going about their lives who had no idea what was about to hit them,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
The suspect was identified by two law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation as 29-year-old Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov. According to CNN, “he is from the central Asian nation of Uzbekistan and came to the United States in 2010”.
US President Donald Trump took to Twitter to denounce the attack, appearing to attribute the deaths to Islamic State.
There are conflicting reports of a note being found at the scene, with the New York Times reporting “handwritten notes in Arabic near the truck that indicated allegiance to the Islamic State”, while CNN says the notes were written in English.
“Officials in New York said additional resources were being deployed around the city, where children would be on the streets late into the evening to celebrate Halloween,” The Guardian says.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'People shouldn't have to share the road with impaired drivers'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Is academic freedom in peril?
Today's Big Question Faculty punishments are on the rise
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91
Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
FBI: US violent crime falls again, hits pre-Covid levels
Speed Read A wide-ranging report found that violent crime dropped 3% in the last year, while murder dropped 11.6%
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
DOJ charges 2 in white nationalist 'Terrorgram' plot
Feds say Dallas Humber and Matthew Allison were plotting assassinations through a terrorist network on Telegram
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Judge rejects Trump bid to make NY case federal
Speed Read Judge Alvin Hellerstein refused Trump's motion to transfer his criminal case to federal court
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump ally Bannon reports to prison
Speed Read He will serve a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump won't testify as trial enters final phase
Speed Read Despite his public insistence on testifying, Trump's defense team called two witnesses, "neither of them the former president"
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump hush money trial: what has the jury heard?
Today's Big Question Former loyal fixer Michael Cohen proves star witness for prosecution, but Stormy Daniels's graphic testimony could offer grounds for appeal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
New York prosecutors lay out case against Trump
Speed Read The former president's first criminal trial started in earnest Monday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump criminal trial starts with rulings, reminder
Speed Read The first day of his historic trial over hush money payments was mostly focused on jury selection
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published