New York attack: Eight dead, Trump vows to toughen vetting

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A pickup truck driver killed eight people and injured more than a dozen others when he drove down a popular New York City bike path on Tuesday afternoon in what authorities said was a terrorist attack.

What happened?

The driver of a rental truck drove down a busy bicycle path in lower Manhattan at 3:05 p.m. local time, NYPD Commissioner James O’Neil said, adding that he was armed with a paintball gun and a pellet gun.

Police said the driver entered the bike path on West Street a few blocks from the new World Trade Center and mowed down several people. The truck also slammed into a small yellow school bus, injuring two adults and two children.

The driver was shot in the abdomen by a police officer near the scene.

Argentina’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that five Argentine citizens were killed in the attack. A Belgian national and a German national were also among the eight killed people, according to CBS.

Suspect identified

The 29-year-old driver was identified as Sayfullo Saipov, an immigrant who came to the US from Uzbekistan in 2010 and had apparently settled in Florida.

CNN cited a senior law enforcement official, saying that the suspect left a note in the truck, claiming he carried out the attack in the name of ISIL.

The suspect was shot by police in the abdomen and taken into custody after he crashed the truck into a school bus and fled his vehicle, O'Neil told a news conference.

Responses from US authorities

US President Donald Trump in his twitter described the suspect as “very sick and deranged person,” called the incident a “terrorist attack” and sent condolences to the victims and families of the attack.

Trump said in a follow-up tweet that he has ordered stronger “extreme vetting program.”

White House said in a statement that it will “provide its full support to the New York City Police Department, including through a joint investigation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

The US State Department said it is closely monitoring the situation after the attack.

A spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security called the incident an "apparent act of terrorism."

Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called the attack a "cowardly act of terrorism."

Witness accounts

Witnesses described a scene of panic and blood, with people screaming in fear and the path strewn with bodies and mangled bicycles.

Tom Gay, a school photographer, was on Warren Street and heard people saying there was an accident. He went down to West Street and a woman came around the corner shouting, "He has a gun! He has a gun!"

Gay said he stuck his head around the corner and saw a slender man in a blue track suit running southbound on West Street holding a gun. He said there was a heavyset man pursuing him.

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