New York terror suspect left handwritten notes in Arabic pledging allegiance to ISIS before truck rampage
The New York terror attack suspect left handwritten notes in Arabic pledging allegiance to ISIS, according to reports.
Eight people were killed and 11 injured when a rented pick-up truck crossed into a bike path and mowed down cyclists and pedestrians.
It then swerved back into traffic lanes, crashing into a school bus.
The driver, identified as 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov, was captured on video running between traffic holding a pellet gun and a paintball gun before he was shot in the stomach.
He remains in hospital where he is expected to survive.
Saipov is from Uzbekistan and came to the US in 2010.
He had a green card granting full residency and a driver’s licence for Florida.
He also had links to New Jersey and Ohio.
Online records show the suspect has a criminal record in Pennsylvania and Missouri, all for traffic offences.
He had one, for, according to the courts website, after he “Failed To Equip Mtr Carrier Veh With/Maintain Required Brake System.”
Saipov, slim with a heavy beard, shouted ‘Alluha Akbar!’, which translates as ‘God is great!’ before he was taken into custody.
Authorities have credited the officer who shot him as saving lives.
Inside the truck there were notes pledging allegiance to Islamic State, according to the New York Times.
There was also an image of the black flag favoured by ISIS.
Eight people have been killed in the suspected terror attack, which took place close to the 9/11 memorial site, while two adults and two children were injured during the school bus collision.
Police confirmed they are treating the truck rampage, which happened at around 3pm in Manhattan, as terrorism.
Chillingly, there were visible tyre marks on the bodies of at least two of the victims at the scene.
The NYPD held a press conference two hours after the horrendous incident.
James O’Neill, NYPD Commissioner described the incident as “a tragedy of the highest order” that killed innocent people just going about their day.
Mayor Bill De Blasio added: “It’s a very painful day in our city. This was an act of terror, a particularly cowardly act of terror aimed at civilians going about their lives.
“We know of eight innocent people who have lost their lives and more than a dozen injured.
“New Yorkers are strong and resilient and our spirits will not be broken by an act of violence. New Yorkers do not give in.”
A student from Stuyvesant High School, close to where the shooting took place, told the New York Post: “What happened was there was a car crash… he came out of one of the cars.
“He had two guns. He was running around Chambers and somebody started to chase him. I heard four to six gunshots – everybody starts running.”
Source: Mirror
