New York terror attack: 8 dead, suspect in custody (Third Lead)
New York, Nov 1 (IANS) At least eight persons have been killed and 12 seriously injured in New York after a driver of a truck mowed down people on a cycle path in Lower Manhattan in US.
The attack happened on Tuesday, when the city was celebrating Halloween, one of the most festive days in the New York calendar.
The pavements were crowded with kids in costumes and there were still children trick-or-treating just yards away, the BBC reported.
The spot is also just yards away from Ground Zero, a site which reminds all New Yorkers of the 9/11 attack in 2001. It did not take police long to confirm that the city had once again been the target of terror.
Five of these victims were Argentine nationals, Efe news quoted a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Buenos Aires as saying.
The 29-year-old man who emerged from the white pick-up truck was shot by a police officer and arrested.
The media named him as Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov, an Uzbek immigrant who came to the US in 2010 and settled in Florida, a CNN report said.
A note was found in the truck that referred to the Islamic State (IS), a law enforcement source told CBS News.
Around 3.05 p.m., Saipov drove a truck onto the West Side Highway bike path.
The truck entered near Houston Street. It was a rental from Home Depot, the home improvement chain said.
The driver continued down the path, hitting bicyclists and pedestrians.
Further down the path, the truck collided with a school bus at Chambers Street.