This is a breaking news story and will likely be updated…
Eight people were killed and a dozen injured Tuesday after a man drove a rented pickup truck down a bike lane in lower Manhattan, plowing into cyclists and colliding with a school bus. After driving for several blocks, the man exited the truck and — according to witnesses — fired a weapon that may have been a pellet gun. Shortly thereafter, the suspect was shot by police and taken into custody.
The incident is being investigated as a terrorist attack. The police say they are not searching for any other suspects.
CBS News posted a video of scene:
“The actual number of injured at this point is still unclear,” @AnthonyMasonCBS reports on Lower Manhattan attack https://t.co/fad8qNTMeb pic.twitter.com/7lRGT1n6eC
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 31, 2017
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo traveled to the scene Tuesday and gave a press conference with updates from police that evening. Both the mayor and governor referred to the event as an “act of terror.”
BREAKING: NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio says “this was an act of terror”; at least eight people dead. https://t.co/pkCObWn0sZ pic.twitter.com/uGi6EJVnwH
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) October 31, 2017
The New York Times reported later Tuesday evening that the suspect had been identified as 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov, and that he was in critical condition after being shot by a police officer in the abdomen. “Saipov came to the United States from Uzbekistan in 2010, and had a green card that allowed permanent legal residence,” according to the Times, which noted he had lived in Paterson, New Jersey, and Tampa, Florida.
Angry, shocked, overwhelmed? Take action: Support independent media.
We’ve borne witness to a chaotic first few months in Trump’s presidency.
Over the last months, each executive order has delivered shock and bewilderment — a core part of a strategy to make the right-wing turn feel inevitable and overwhelming. But, as organizer Sandra Avalos implored us to remember in Truthout last November, “Together, we are more powerful than Trump.”
Indeed, the Trump administration is pushing through executive orders, but — as we’ve reported at Truthout — many are in legal limbo and face court challenges from unions and civil rights groups. Efforts to quash anti-racist teaching and DEI programs are stalled by education faculty, staff, and students refusing to comply. And communities across the country are coming together to raise the alarm on ICE raids, inform neighbors of their civil rights, and protect each other in moving shows of solidarity.
It will be a long fight ahead. And as nonprofit movement media, Truthout plans to be there documenting and uplifting resistance.
As we undertake this life-sustaining work, we appeal for your support. Please, if you find value in what we do, join our community of sustainers by making a monthly or one-time gift.