Source: Kena Betancur / Getty
(RNN) – Eight people are dead and at least15 more injured after a man driving a truck went the wrong way down a bike path in Lower Manhattan deliberately mowing down cyclists. CNN reported that the FBI and NYPD are investigating the incident as a terrorist attack.
The New York Times reports that a white box truck drove about 20 blocks down the bike path alongside the Hudson River hitting several people from behind. The driver crashed the truck and exited the vehicle brandishing a paintball gun and a pellet gun; officers shot him in the abdomen and took him into custody. He is being held in the hospital, officials said.
Two law enforcement officers told the New York Times that the suspect was shouting “Allahu Akbar,” which means “God is great” in Arabic.
Federal authorities are treating the event as a terror attack and took over the lead of the investigation, though the NYPD will maintain an active role.
New York Mayor Bill DeBlasio said “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.”
If investigators declare the incident a terror attack, it will be the first with casualties in New York since the World Trade Center attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said there is no reason to suspect a broader plot or scheme.
The event unfolded in the Tribeca neighborhood in lower Manhattan a few blocks from the World Trade Center. Nearby Stuyvesant High School was immediately locked down.
READ MORE: Cleveland19.com
Article Courtesy of WOIO Cleveland 19 News
First Picture Courtesy of Kena Betancur and Getty Images
Tweet and Second Picture Courtesy of Twitter and WOIO Cleveland 19 News
First through Fourth Video Courtesy of CNN and YouTube
Fifth Video Courtesy of ABC News and YouTube
UPDATE: Eight Dead in Lower Manhattan Attack was originally published on wzakcleveland.com
