Terror In Tribeca: 8 Dead As Truck Plows Down Bike Lane, Cops Say

TRIBECA, NY — At least eight people were killed and more injured when a truck sped down a bike path near the West Side Highway, crashing into cyclists, pedestrians and a school bus before its driver exited the vehicle waving what appeared to be a gun, sources and witnesses said.

Government and law enforcement officials called the attack an act of terrorism during a briefing at NYPD headquarters. Two separate law enforcement sources identified the suspect as Sayfullo Saipov, 29. While he had a Florida driver's license that listed a Tampa address, they said that he'd been living in Paterson, NJ with his wife and children.

Saipov is originally from Uzbekistan and arrived in the United States in 2010, the sources told Patch. They said he left a note in Arabic pledging allegiance to ISIS. The sources say it's not yet known if his affiliation with the group went beyond the note.

According to the NYPD, he drove a rented pickup truck onto the bike path on West Street, a few blocks north of Chambers Street, shortly after 3 p.m. Tuesday and careened about 14 blocks down it, hitting many people.

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

The dead consisted of five people from Argentina, one from Germany, and two Americans, authorities said. Nine people remained hospitalized in serious or critical condition, with injuries that included lost limbs and head, chest and neck wounds.

Mayor Bill de Blasio called it "a cowardly act of terror." It was the first deadly terrorist attack in the New York City since 9/11.

The driver was shot in the abdomen by Officer Ryan Nash, a five-year veteran of the NYPD assigned to the First Precinct. Saipov made it through surgery and is in custody at Bellevue, the NYPD said. Police said that a pellet gun and paintball gun were recovered at the scene.

"So many police came and they didn't know what was happening. People were screaming. Females were screaming at the top of their lungs," Eugene Duffy, a chef at a waterfront restaurant, told the Associated Press.

Lia Tarenzi, 62, told Patch she followed emergency vehicles to the scene of the truck crash and saw victims being treated by responders.

"I saw a person dead on the street under a sheet and somebody being loaded on a gurney into an ambulance," Tarenzi told Patch. "Then the police moved us back."

Rabbi Chaim Zaklos, 35, told Patch that he saw the wreckage of the truck.

"It was one of those small pick-up trucks and the front was completely smashed in," Zaklos said. "It was chaotic, there was FBI, there was NYPD, there was state police and they were pushing us back."

The FBI/NYPD Joint Terrorist Task Force is leading the investigation. Officials from the JTTF have reached out to their colleagues in Florida, Ohio, and New Jersey for assistance.

President Donald Trump linked the attack to ISIS in a tweet, though no group had officially claimed responsibility as of Tuesday evening. "We must not allow ISIS to return, or enter, our country after defeating them in the Middle East and elsewhere," his message read.

The law enforcement sources said that Saipov originally settled in Stow, Ohio and had lived in Paterson, NJ and Tampa, FL. He used a Florida license to rent the truck from the Home Depot in Passaic, NJ, the sources said. On Tuesday evening, Uber confirmed that Saipov had worked as driver for the ride-share company.

"We are horrified by this senseless act of violence," an Uber spokesperson said in a statement. "Our hearts are with the victims and their families. We have reached out to law enforcement to provide our full assistance."

Saipov reportedly passed the Uber background check before beginning work as a driver. Sources with the company say that no concerning safety reports have been surfaced in a review of his driving history with Uber.

Officials told Patch that FBI agents were searching his homes at 7011 San Ramon Place in Tampa and at 168 Genesee Avenue in Paterson and interviewing friends and relatives.

Sources say that investigators are also examining surveillance reports from Omar Mosque on Getty Avenue in Paterson where Saipov is believed to have worshipped.

The Associated Press reported in 2012 that the NYPD had ordered surveillance of the mosque.

"'This mosque has a long history in the community and is believed to have been the subject of federal Investigations.'" according to a document quoted in the AP story.

"Federal law enforcement officials told the AP that the mosque itself was never under federal investigation and they were unaware the NYPD was monitoring it so closely."

They said that Saipov had worked as a truck driver and had received tickets in Pennsylvania and Missouri.

Officials say that while he appears to have entered the United States legally, and later obtained a green card. Officials are also examining phone and computer records to track his contacts.

One thing that they want to determine is if he is connected to five men from Uzbekistan who were charged in Brooklyn Federal Court with providing material support to ISIS.

At a press conference, Governor Andrew Cuomo said investigators believe it was a lone wolf attack and that there is no evidence to suggest a wider plot. Both he and de Blasio said they didn't expect a further attack.

In addition to the eight fatalities, police said 11 people were injured. The injuries were serious but not life threatening, FDNY commissioner Daniel Nigro said at the press briefing. He said the injury count is expected to rise as people self-evacuate to hospitals in search of treatment.

Of the eight killed, six were pronounced dead at the scene between Houston and Chambers streets. Two more were pronounced at an area hospital.

The bike path was littered with mangled bodies, witnesses said of the horrific scene. One told the Daily News that she saw two Citi Bike riders mowed down 50 feet apart.

Tom Gay, a school photographer, told the AP he was on West Street and heard a woman shouting, "He has a gun! He has a gun!"

Gay said he saw a man in a blue track suit running on West Street holding a gun. He said there was a man chasing him. He heard five or six shots, and the man in the tracksuit fell to the ground, gun still held up in the air, he said. The other man kicked the gun out of his hand.

Mayor de Blasio immediately ordered a beefed-up NYPD presence in the city.

Watch: Several Dead After Vehicle Crashes Into Bicyclists In Manhattan

Police Commissioner James O'Neill declined to confirm the name of the suspect, but said he was 29.

He said the driver went from Houston Street until he crashed into a school bus on Chambers Street. Two adults and two children were hurt in the bus, he said. The driver then ran from the bus holding the two weapons.

Students at the nearby Stuyvesant high school and PS 234 Independence School remained inside on lockdown while officers swarmed the scene. The lockdown was lifted within two hours, O'Neill said.

Rachel Elderfield, 43, waited outside PS 234 to pick up her 6-year-old son, she told Patch. She recalled hearing what sounded like five quick gunshots as she arrived at the elementary school around 3:15 p.m.

"I was afraid that he had sports and they were all outside," Elderfield told Patch.

When Elderfield arrived at PS 234 the school principal told parents that the children were safe inside, but could not leave the building until the scene was declared safe.

A roughly two-mile stretch of highway in lower Manhattan was shut down for the investigation. Authorities also converged on a New Jersey apartment building and a van in a parking lot at a New Jersey Home Depot.

The attack came just hours before the massive Greenwich Village Halloween Parade, which was expected to bring thousands of people to Sixth Avenue. The event went ahead as planned.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Patch editors Kathleen Culliton, Ciara McCarthy and Colin Miner contributed to this report.

Lead image via AP Photo/Craig Ruttle