UPDATE
From NBC News update
The crash into the school bus appeared to be deliberate; witnesses told police they saw the driver swerve the truck to target the bus, which was carrying children. They said the driver then screamed "Allahu Akbar" in the truck, then emerged carrying what turned out to be a pellet gun and a paint gun and started running around before he was confronted by a nearby uniformed officer on patrol, who shot him in the abdomen.
[...]
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An ABC News report (10:20 pm EDT) addsThere are no street intersections between the point where theThis makes it even more likely that the bus-ramming was deliberate.suspectterrorist entered and where the vehicle stopped.
The ABC report also mentions that two students were injured in the attack, one critically, although it's not clear from the report whether the students were on the bus.
It also mentions that the attack took place in an area where five schools are situated (which ABC lists) and underscores the time of the attack, 3:05 pm, just when classes end for the day. In other words, the attacker would be fairly certain that he could target several children at that time.
Also:
> the published toll of injured ranges from 11 to 15 with 'more than a dozen' most cited.
> from a radio news report, the terrorist had a large hunting knife, which was left in the truck when he exited.
> Washington Examiner report, 10:20 pm EDT: Trump says he ordered DHS to 'step up' its 'already Extreme Vetting Program' after NYC attack
END UPDATE
UPDATE
UPDATE
From NBC News update [NO TIME STAMP]
Suspect Claimed He Committed NYC Truck Attack for ISIS: Sources
The 29-year-old man detained after a flatbed ["pickup"] truck drove down a popular lower Manhattan bike path, killing at least 8 people and injuring more than a dozen more, left a note in the truck claiming he committed the attack for ISIS, according to law enforcement sources.
[.. .]
Sources said Saipov lives in Paterson, New Jersey, but he had a Florida license with a Tampa address on him when he was arrested. Police and federal agents were seen swarming the neighborhood street where he was thought to live on Tuesday evening.
Residents in the area said that Saipov had a wife and two young children.
Kobiljon Matkarov, a Facebook friend of Saipov's, told NBC News that the two met while they were both living in Florida. He said his friend was working as a truck and Uber driver.
"He was very happy guy," said Matkarov, who is also from Uzbekistan. "he liked the US. he is no terrorist. He's all the time happy, smiling all the time."
Residents in the area said that Saipov had a wife and two young children.
Kobiljon Matkarov, a Facebook friend of Saipov's, told NBC News that the two met while they were both living in Florida. He said his friend was working as a truck and Uber driver.
"He was very happy guy," said Matkarov, who is also from Uzbekistan. "he liked the US. he is no terrorist. He's all the time happy, smiling all the time."
[...]
END UPDATE
Police and witnesses say a man deliberately drove a rented truck onto a busy bicycle path near the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, killing eight people and seriously injuring 11 others, then emerged from the vehicle screaming and brandishing imitation firearms before he was shot by police. The suspect terrorist was wounded and taken into custody.
[...]
The incident occurred at West Street and Chambers Street at 3:05 p.m.
The vehicle entered the pedestrian/bike path a few blocks north of Chambers Street on Manhattan's west side. The truck drove down the bike path for about four blocks, striking cyclists and pedestrians before veering back into traffic lanes and striking a school bus and another vehicle.
Four people on board the school bus were injured, CBS New York reports. Officials said Tuesday they were two adults and two children.
The suspect terrorist then emerged brandishing what police called "imitation firearms." A pellet gun and a paintball gun were recovered at the scene, O'Neill said.
An officer shot him in the abdomen and he was transported to the hospital.
Six people were pronounced dead at the scene and two others died at the hospital, officials said. Eleven others suffered injuries that were described as serious but not life-threatening.
[...]
Sources identify suspect as Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov
Law enforcement sources identified the suspect terrorist to CBS News as Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov, a 29-year-old man from Tampa, Florida.
Sources tell CBS News' senior investigative producer Pat Milton the suspect yelled "Allahu Akbar," Arabic for "God is great," when he exited the truck.
[...]
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the attack appeared to be a "lone wolf" incident with no apparent link to a wider terrorist plot.
[Pundita note: Of course Cuomo has had no way of knowing at this early stage whether the terrorist is a lone wolf, but many attacks of similar nature show the attacker was part of a plot, usually involving help from Islamic State operatives.]
[...]
From NBC News published about 6:30 PM EDT:
Authorities said that the man, identified by sources as Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov, is thought to be a "lone actor" in the attack in the Hudson River Greenway between Houston and Chambers streets on Tuesday afternoon.
Sources said Saipov had a Florida license on him when he was arrested and had recently lived in Tampa. He entered the country through John F. Kennedy International Airport in 2010 and also spent time in New York and New Jersey over the last seven years.
The suspect also allegedly shouted "allahu ackbar" [sic] at some point during the suspected terror attack. U.S. intelligence officials said they had no knowledge of any terror groups claiming responsibility for the violence.
The man, who was also apparently [filmed] running through traffic on West Street with what appeared to be a BB gun and paintball gun after his rented Home Depot truck crashed into a school bus and pole.
At some point after that video was captured, police shot and wounded Saipov. He is being treated at Bellevue Hospital and remains in custody, according to sources.
Authorities said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon that he is thought to be the only suspect in the violence.
[Pundita note: that's a more accurate way of putting it than saying his act didn't seem to be part of a wider terrorist plot.]
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