At least 8 people are dead and a dozen more are injured following a Halloween terrorist attack in New York City on Tuesday.
According to New York City Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill, 29-year-old Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov deliberately drove a rented Home Depot truck down a busy pedestrian walkway and well-trafficked bike path along the West Side Highway of Manhattan, mowing down New Yorker’s for nearly 20 blocks. He then crashed his truck into a school bus and jumped out of the vehicle brandishing firearms while screaming “Allahu Akbar” in Arabic. The terrorist was immediately shot by police in the abdomen and taken to a local hospital.
Six people were declared dead at the scene and 2 others were pronounced dead at hospital. Also, 11 more were transported to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
“This is a very painful day in our city,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news conference. “Based on the information we have at this moment this was an act of terror, a particularly cowardly act of terror aimed at innocent civilians.”
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders also commented, saying, “Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected.”
A spokesman for Home Depot confirmed that one of their company rental trucks was used in the incident and said the company is “cooperating with authorities” in the investigation.
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With many US cities (and particularly New York City) well prepped and guarded following the deadly attacks of 9/11, terrorists have taken to conducting small-level acts of violence that are easy to implement and difficult to track. In fact, vehicles have been used as weapons in a series of terrorist attacks in recent years, including deadly incidents in Nice, France, and London. Terrorist leaders have urged followers to use vehicles, knives, guns, or whatever they can get their hands on to conduct terror.
Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov is from Tampa, Florida, and underwent surgery at Manhattan’s Bellevue Hospital late Tuesday. He is now in police custody. A note was found inside the truck claiming the incident was conducted on behalf of ISIS.
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Unfortunately, “acts of terror” and threats of “acts of terror” have become a sad reality that We, and the entire world are forced to live with, as they will continue to occur at times in the foreseeable future because -the truth is- it’s just not humanly possible to predict and prevent every attack.
Thankfully many attacks are thwarted but that’s of little-to-no comfort to any family directly impacted by such deadly attacks.
My thoughts and prayers are with each and every one of them.