A driver in a rental truck from Home Depot entered a bike path going the wrong way and began running people over, killing at least six. He then hit a school bus and got out of the truck and was heard shouting “Allahu Akbar” with two guns that turned out to be a paint gun and a BB gun. Police shot the suspect and took him to the hospital for treatment. Gov Andrew Cuomo warns that there could be more attacks and more than ever if you see something, say something. The attack took place right near the site of the former World Trade Center.
The incident is being investigated as terrorism, according to multiple law enforcement sources. Witnesses reported the suspect was yelling “Allahu Akbar,” according to four law enforcement sources. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is taking over the lead of the investigation.
The suspect, driving in a Home Depot rental truck, hopped a curb at West Houston Street and drove south on the bike path on the west side of West Side Highway in Lower Manhattan for several blocks, the official said.
After striking multiple people, the suspect hit a school bus and wrecked his truck, an NYPD official said. Four people were removed from the bus and they had minor injuries, the official said.
No other suspects are being sought, the NYPD said.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo both said they are heading to the scene. The White House said President Trump was briefed by chief of staff John Kelly on the incident in lower Manhattan and “will be continually updated as more details are known.”
Press secretary Sarah Sanders said, “Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected.”
A spokesman for Home Depot confirmed one of the company’s rental trucks was part of an incident in lower Manhattan and said the company is “cooperating with authorities” in the investigation.
Eye witnesses talked to reporters:
Michael Corbin, the assistant real estate manager for District Council 37, the city’s largest public employees union, was standing outside the union’s lower Manhattan offices attending to a woman who slipped and fell on the sidewalk.
“The first responder to the event was a counterterrorism officer,” he said. “We were attending to the victim, getting her onto a stretcher and, at that moment, we heard gunshots. I recalled hearing five gunshots in quick succession and immediately the officer … left to investigate the situation from the direction we heard the noise coming from.”
Another witness, Ramon Cruz, described what he saw.
“What I saw was that the driver — he didn’t look like he was bleeding,” said Cruz. “He was dragging his foot. He looks frustrated, panicked, confused. People are running past me, saying, ‘He’s got a gun. He’s got a gun.’ I didn’t see any gun.
“It was a white pickup truck. He looked pretty bad without bleeding or anything like that. I didn’t see him hit anybody. All I heard was the impact of a crash.”
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