Cop From Medford Stops NYC Terrorist Attack

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

The terrorist attack was put to a stop by 28-year-old Ryan Nash, an NYPD officer from Long Island.

Nash shot the suspect, who law enforcement sources identified as 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov, in the abdomen, police said.

"I want to commend the response of our NYPD officer that was on post near the location who stopped the carnage moments after it began," NYPD Police Commissioner James O'Neill said, referring to Nash, who is from Medford, according to a CBS 2 report.

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

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

Saipov was then shot by Nash, a five-year veteran of the NYPD assigned to the First Precinct. In his five years, he has racked up more than 50 arrests.

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 AP.

Saipov is originally from Uzbekistan and arrived in the United States in 2010, sources tell Patch. They say that he originally settled in Stow, Ohio and had lived in Paterson, NJ and Tampa, FL. He used a Florida license to rent the truck from Home Depot, the sources say.

Officials tell Patch that FBI agents were searching his home in Tampa and interviewing friends and relatives.
They said that Saipov had worked as a truck driver and had received tickets in Pennsylvania and Missouri.

Sources say that Saipov left a note pledging allegiance to ISIS. The sources say it's not yet known if his affiliation with the group went beyond the note.

Officials say that while he appears to have entered the United States legally, they are looking into whether he overstayed a visa. They are also examining phone and computer records to track his contacts.

President Donald Trump linked the attack to ISIS in a tweet, though no group had 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 messages read.

At a press conference, Gov. 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 Mayor Bill 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 heavyset 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.

If Tuesday's attack is confirmed as an act of terrorism, it would be the first successful one in the city since 9/11.

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

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

Additionally, 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.

The West Side Highway was shut down from Battery Park to Canal Street, New York 1 reported.

The attack came just hours before the massive Greenwich Village Halloween Parade, which was expected to bring thousands of people to Sixth Avenue. Organizers said the event would go on as planned.

Reporting by Brendan Krisel, Adam Nichols, Colin Miner and Kathleen Culliton in New York City. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Main photo by Bebeto Matthews/Associated Press