A man in a white pickup truck purposefully drove onto a bike path in downtown New York City on Tuesday, killing at least eight people as he barrelled down several blocks toward the area of the 9/11 memorial, ABC reports.
The attacker crashed the truck near the prestigious Stuyvesant High School, shouted “Allahu Akbar” while exiting the vehicle and waved two imitation firearms before police shot him twice and apprehended him, according to Fox News and NYPD Twitter. Witnesses heard between 6 and 10 shots fired.
At least nine people were injured by the white Home Depot rental pickup truck, Fox News reported. Photos from the scene show mangled bicycles. A witness described seeing two people dead at the scene with tire marks on their chests.
“Everybody started running,” the witness told ABC. “Everything was happening so fast.”
“He kept going all the way down full speed,” the witness added. “Thank god the trick-or-treaters weren’t out yet.”
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo were on their way to the scene. De Blasio said there was no active threat after being briefed by police.
DEVELOPING: 6 Dead, 15 Injured in N.Y. After Motorist Drove Onto Busy Bike Path, Possible Terror Attack – https://t.co/dcs7CWljBW #OANN pic.twitter.com/ZXjVhw5INe
— One America News (@OANN) October 31, 2017
A White House spokesperson told ABC that President Trump was notified of the attack. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has also been briefed.
The FBI confirmed that they were at the scene investigating. A bomb squad was summoned to inspect a suspicious vehicle nearby.
The suspect was holding a paintball gun and a BB gun, a police source told Fox News.
A witness who spoke to local media saw the man’s truck crash into a school bus, which continued moving after the impact. Another witness told Fox News that he saw a thin man in a blue tracksuit running and holding a gun while a heavier man was chasing him.