Alleged NYC Attacker Was NJ Uber Driver, Gave 1,400 Rides

The alleged terrorist who struck and killed eight people in New York City with a truck could very well have been your Uber driver in New Jersey.

Sayfullo Saipov, a 29-year-old Uzbekistan native who was living in Paterson, was an active New Jersey driver for Uber for more than six months, giving 1,400 trips. Uber confirmed that he passed the company's background check. He has since been banned from the Uber app, according to company spokeswoman Susan Hendrick.

Saipov drove a rented pickup truck onto the bike path on West Street in Manhattan on Tuesday, just a few blocks north of Chambers Street, when he struck multiple people, Patch previously reported.

“We are horrified by this senseless act of violence," Hendrick said. "Our hearts are with the victims and their families. We have reached out to law enforcement to provide our full assistance.”

Hendrick said the company has been in contact with the FBI. "We will remain in close contact with law enforcement and the FBI to assist with their investigation," she said.

Watch: New York City Bike Path Attack Suspect Investigated

Uber is also "aggressively and quickly reviewing this partner’s history with Uber, and at this time we have not identified any related concerning safety reports."

New Jersey officials also said they are working with the FBI and New York City officals.

Various reports, meanwhile, identified the Home Depot in Passaic as the location where Saipov rented the truck that he allegedly used to kill 8 people.

Police also blocked off the roadway on Wednesday where Saipov apparently lived in recent months.

Saipov reportedly gave police a Paterson address when he was was stopped in 2012 in Palmyra, Pa. in 2012 and again in 2015 when police stopped him in Mount Holly Springs Borough, Pa., according to an NJ.com report.

A woman who lives in the building Saipov reportedly lived at told NJ.com that she had never seen Saipov there but recalled seeing his name on a piece of mail, the report said.

Saipov is originally from Uzbekistan and arrived in the United States in 2010, CBS news reports. The Associated Press reported that he had a Florida driver's license.

Investigators found a note inside the truck that Saipov wrote in which he declared his allegiance to the Islamic State, the Washington Post reported.

Saipov, who was shot at the terror site, is expected to survive and investigators will, most likely, question him about his motive for the attack, according to the Washington Post report. He was a "lone wolf" and carried out the attack alone after he was inspired by, but did not take orders from, the Islamic State, according to the report.

The truck crashed and the driver got out holding what appeared to be a two guns, sources said. Law enforcement authorities said the driver was yelling "Allahu Akbar!" — which means "God is great!" in Arabic.

Police said that a pellet gun and paintball gun were recovered at the scene. A joint terrorism task force has been set up to lead the investigation into the truck rampage.

ABC News spoke to an eyewitness who said he saw Saipov run toward a group of children with imitation firearms after he crashed a Home Depot truck into several people on a bike path in lower Manhattan.

The Associated Press and Dan Hubbard contributed to this report. Patch editor Kathleen Culliton contributed to this report.

Lead image: Undated photo provided by St. Charles County Department of Corrections via KMOV shows Sayfullo Saipov. (St. Charles County Department of Corrections/KMOV via AP)