Eleanor Service | Reporter
At least 8 people have been confirmed dead as a truck ploughed people down on a Lower Manhattan cycle path.
It is being reported that 11 more have been injured, but despite their injuries being serious, they are not life-threatening.
The male suspect was reported to have emerged from the van carrying imitation guns, before being shot and arrested by a police officer.
The Mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, has said that this is a “cowardly act of terror aimed at innocent civilians”, and that this was “a very painful day in our city”.
The New York Police Department has been confirming details of the attack via Twitter as the story unfolds:
While driving south on the path the truck collided with a school bus at West St & Chambers St.
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) October 31, 2017
The truck drove south on the path striking multiple people. 8 people were killed, 11 have serious but non-life threatening injuries.
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) October 31, 2017
At approximately 3:05pm a 29 y/o male drove a rented Home Depot truck onto the bike/pedestrian path at West St/Houston St driving south.
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) October 31, 2017
In this series of tweets the police department has confirmed that the truck was indeed rented from Home Depot, as has been reported.
Local TV network NY1 was told by a witness named ‘Frank’ that he had seen a man running round an intersection and had heard five to six gunshots.
“I saw he had something in his hand, but I couldn’t tell what it was. But they said that it was a gun…
“When the cops shot him, everybody started running away and it got a little bit crazy right there. So when I tried to look again, the guy was already down.”
President Trump has tweeted out on the incident saying:
In NYC, looks like another attack by a very sick and deranged person. Law enforcement is following this closely. NOT IN THE U.S.A.!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2017
A spokeswoman for the White House, Sarah Sanders, has also said; “Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected”.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has also spoken out about the incident, saying there is no evidence to suggest today’s lethal truck attack was a component of a larger terrorist plot.
“The new terrorist tactic, which they’ve called for publicly, are these lone wolves who commit an act of terror,” he said. “This is all very preliminary. It’s only been a couple of hours, but at this point there is no evidence to suggest a wider plot or a wider scheme. But the actions of one individual who meant to cause pain and harm and probably death and the resulting terror and that was the purpose.”
There will be more updates as this horrifying event unfolds.
