At least eight people have died and an additional 15 people have been injured in an incident that’s being investigated as a terror attack on Tuesday afternoon in New York City.
Officials say 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov of Tampa, Florida plowed into pedestrians and bicyclists on a crowded jogging path in Lower Manhattan with a rented flatbed truck before slamming into a school bus that blocked his path. Two adults and two children aboard the bus were injured in the crash. The suspect, who has been apprehended, reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” upon exiting the vehicle and was holding what appeared to be two handguns. These turned out to be a paintball gun and a pellet gun.
Saipov was shot in the abdomen by police and has been hospitalized. Federal authorities are investigating the incident as a terror attack.
“Based on information we have at this moment, this was an act of terror, and a particularly cowardly act of terror aimed at innocent civilians,” said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in a press conference following the attack.
