A pickup truck driver killed eight people and injured more than a dozen others when he drove down a New York City bike path on Tuesday afternoon in what authorities said was a terrorist attack.
The 29-year-old driver was shot by police in the abdomen and taken into custody after he crashed the truck into a school bus and fled his vehicle, New York City Police Commissioner James O'Neill told a news conference.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security called the incident an "apparent act of terrorism."
Asked at the news conference about reports that the driver shouted "Allahu Akbar" - which is Arabic for "God is greatest" - O'Neill said that a statement made by the suspect when he exited his truck and the general circumstances of the assault led investigators to label the incident a "terrorist event."
O'Neill said police would not identify the driver at this time.
The attack was reminiscent of several similar attacks carried out in Europe last year.
Governor Andrew Cuomo said the suspect appeared to have acted alone.
"There's no evidence to suggest a wider plot or a wider scheme. These are the actions of one individual meant to cause pain and harm and probably death," Cuomo said at the news conference.
Mayor Bill de Blasio called the attack a "cowardly act of terrorism."
The driver entered the bike path in lower Manhattan at 3:05 p.m., O'Neill said, adding that he was armed with a paint-ball gun and a pellet gun.
Two children and two adults were injured when the truck plowed into the school bus, he said.
O'Neill said the suspect was driving a rented Home Depot truck, but said police would not disclose at this time where the truck was rented.
After the attack, mangled and flattened bicycles littered the bike path, which runs parallel to the West Side Highway on the western edge of Manhattan along the Hudson River.
Of the eight people killed, six were pronounced dead at the scene and two more were pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, O'Neill said.
Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said 11 survivors with serious but non-life-threatening injuries were taken to hospitals.
U.S. President Donald Trump was briefed on the incident, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.
Similar attacks in Europe last year killed dozens of people.
On July 14, 2016, a suspect drove a large truck into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in the French city of Nice, killing 86 people and injuring hundreds more in an attack for which Islamic State claimed responsibility.
Five months later a 23-year-old migrant from Pakistan plowed a truck into a crowded Christmas market in central Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring 48.
In April of this year, a failed asylum seeker careened down a busy street in a truck in central Stockholm, crashing into a department store and killing three people in what the prime minister called a terrorist attack.
Reuters
Tue Oct 31 2017
Police investigate a vehicle allegedly used in a ramming incident on the West Side Highway in Manhattan, New York, U.S., October 31, 2017. -Reuters
Freedom Flotilla to Gaza: Guinea-Bissau akur kepada Israel, tidak beri kebenaran guna bendera bagi misi pelayaran
Kerajaan Republik Guinea-Bissau dilaporkan tunduk dan akur kepada gesaan Israel untuk tidak membenarkan misi pelayaran Break The Siege: Freedom Flotilla to Gaza menggunakan bendera mereka.
Penyakit berkaitan haba dikhuatiri meningkat di Gaza
Penularan penyakit berkaitan haba panas menjadi kebimbangan terbaharu di Gaza selepas suhu luar jangka melampau melanda wilayah itu setiap hari. Ia sudah semestinya diburukkan lagi dengan kekurangan air bersih dan ketiadaan sistem pembuangan sisa pepejal yang sepatutnya wujud di sesebuah kawasan didiami manusia.
Ilhan Omar melawat peserta tunjuk perasaan
Wakil Dewan Perwakilan Amerika Syarikat (AS) Ilhan Omar mengadakan lawatan di kampus penyokong Pro Palestin di Universiti Columbia New York pada Khamis.
Dua lelaki didakwa jadi 'tali barut' kepada China
Dua lelaki yang mana salah seorangnya pernah bertugas di Parlimen United Kingdom (UK) enjalani proses perbicaraan di mahkamah London pada Jumaat selepas didakwa menjadi tali barut menyalurkan maklumat sulit kerajaan kepada negara tembok besar itu.
Polis serbu pejabat 'Save the Children' di Guatemala
Polis Guatemala melakukan serbuan mengejut ke atas pejabat-pejabat Pertubuhan Save the Children di pelbagai lokasi di negara itu. Ia bagi mencari bukti dakwaan pertubuhan yang memperjuangkan kebajikan kanak-kanak itu, terlibat dalam jenayah penderaan terhadap golongan itu.
LIMA '25 dianjurkan pada 20-24 Mei tahun depan
Pameran Maritim dan Aeroangkasa Antarabangsa Langkawi 2025 (LlMA ‘25) akan dianjurkan pada 20 hingga 24 Mei tahun depan bertemakan Innovate Today, Thrive Tomorrow.
Malaysia komited tingkat hubungan dua hala bersama Libya
Malaysia terus komited mempertingkatkan hubungan dua hala yang berterusan bersama Libya demi manfaat bersama dalam pelbagai sektor.
Demi rakyat, Zahid-Muhyiddin henti saman fitnah
Presiden Umno, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi dan Presiden Bersatu, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin bersepakat untuk menamatkan pertikaian peribadi antara mereka.
Sultan Selangor berangkat ke Majlis Bacaan Yassin di Pangkalan TLDM
Sultan Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah yang juga Kepten Yang Dipertua Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia (TLDM) berkenan berangkat ke Pangkalan TLDM Lumut di Perak bagi menghadiri Majlis Bacaan Yasin, Tahlil dan Khutbah Khas sempena Sambutan Hari TLDM ke-90.
PM Anwar pulangkan elaun Pengerusi Khazanah
Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim memaklumkan beliau memulangkan elaun sebagai pengerusi Khazanah Nasional Berhad yang diterimanya dan sekali lagi menegaskan tidak menerima gaji bagi jawatan Perdana Menteri yang disandangnya sejak November 2022.