ALERT: New York- 8 Killed After Pick-up Driver Runs over Pedestrians in Suspected Terror Attack (October 31, 2017)

October 31, 2017

The driver of a rental truck drove the wrong way down a busy bicycle path in Manhattan near the World Trade Center, killing up to eight people and striking numerous others, a New York Police official said. The incident is being investigated as an act of terrorism.

The New York Post reported:

A man in a pickup truck killed eight people when he drove onto the West Side bike path in lower Manhattan Tuesday afternoon — and then shouted “Allahu Akbar” as he got out of the car with fake guns, police sources said.

The suspected terror attack happened around 3:15 p.m., when a man in a flatbed pickup truck from Home Depot veered onto the bike path at West St., a few blocks north of Chambers St., police said.

The suspect, who was shot by police, then plowed his car into up to 23 people on the path, killing eight and injuring more than a dozen others, according to cops.

He continued driving south and hit another car, then got out and displayed “imitation firearms,” police said.

The man then shouted, “Allahu Akbar,” according to police sources.

Witnesses described a scene of terror, as people fled for safety.

“Jesus! A car just ran over 2 people and then crashed into a school bus. I see two dead bodies and citibikes on the floor destroyed,” a Twitter user wrote.

“What happened was there was a car crash… he came out of one of the cars. He had two guns,” a 14-year-old Stuyvesant HS student said. “We thought it was a Halloween thing. He started running around the highway. There was another guy in a green shirt that was chasing him around.”

“I heard four to six gunshots — everybody starts running,” she added.

Video of the scene shows at least two people lying limp on the street. Photos show a smashed-up Home Depot rental truck and two mangled Citi Bikes.

Counter-terror police were searching the truck for explosives. NYPD investigating downtown carnage as possible terror attack 

The truck driver who plowed into several people along the West Side bike path shouted “Allahu Akbar” after getting out of his vehicle, according to sources.

He also displayed “imitation firearms” that panicked witnesses thought were real.

Six people were killed on the bike path before the driver was shot by police. He is expected to survive.

According to CNN:

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, an NYPD official said.

After striking multiple people, the suspect hit a school bus and wrecked his truck, the official said. Four people were removed from the bus and they had minor injuries, the official said.

The driver then exited the vehicle while displaying imitation firearms and was shot by police, according to the NYPD. The suspect is in police custody and was taken to a hospital for treatment, sources at the NYPD said.

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.

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