Officials have identified the man suspected of a fatal attack on a Manhattan bike path during Halloween celebrations as Sayfullo Saipov, an Uzbek citizen who had been staying in New Jersey.
The 29-year-old was shot by police after the attack which happened near the World Trade Centre memorial. He remains in hospital and is expected to survive.
AP reports a US official briefed on the investigation had confirmed the suspect’s name. He reportedly came from Uzbekistan and had a Florida driver's licence but may have been staying in New Jersey.
The alleged perpetrator had been arrested in Missouri on a traffic fine last year.
The ride-hailing service Uber has confirmed Saipov was one if its drivers and had been driving for the company for more than six months.
Records show Saipov was a commercial truck driver who formed a pair of businesses in Ohio after moving to the US.
Officials not authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on the condition of anonymity identified the attacker Sayfullo Saipov (pictured). Source: St. Charles County Department of
The family friend with whom Saipov stayed in Ohio, Dilnoza Abdusamatova, told The Cincinnati Enquirer Saipov was calm and hardworking.
"He always used to work," Abdusamatova said. "He wouldn't go to parties or anything. He only used to come home and rest and leave and go back to work."
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio confirmed and more than a dozen others were injured in what he described as "an act of terror".
Six of the victims were men who died on the spot, and two others pronounced dead in hospital. Eleven other people were taken to hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries, officials said.
Five Argentines were among the dead, the Foreign Ministry said. Brussels said a Belgian woman was killed and three other Belgians were wounded.
It is claimed the suspect left a note inside the ute which claimed he committed the attack on behalf of the so-called Islamic State (IS), according to US media.
During the attack, the suspect managed to drive a distance of about 20 blocks before heading back on to the road.
Kids in Halloween costumes cross the street near the scene where a man driving a rental truck struck and killed eight people. Source: Getty Images
Television footage showed the mangled wreckage of the pickup truck, bicycles crushed to smithereens and bodies wrapped in sheets and lying on the ground.
NYPD Police Commissioner James O'Neill said the suspect was shot in the stomach by officers after brandishing what appeared to be a pellet gun and a paintball gun, and was taken into custody.
He said the driver hit a school bus, injuring two children and two adults before getting out of the vehicle. The incident happened about 3:05 pm local time.
Commissioner O'Neill confirmed that the suspect made a statement that suggested terrorism as a motive when he exited the vehicle.
"If you just look at the M.O. of the attack, that's consistent with what's been going on. So that along with the statement has enabled us to label this a terrorist event," he said.
Map showing the location of the attack in New York. Source: SBS News
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Belgian and five Argentinians among New York attack victims
Police investigating the deadly rampage later surrounded a white minivan with Florida licence plates that was reportedly found parked in a New Jersey Home Depot parking lot, according to AP.
It is reported the van was parked near the company's rental trucks.
Officials say the Manhattan attack suspect rented a truck from Home Depot in New Jersey about an hour before the attack.
Home Depot spokesman Matthew Harrigan told the UK's Daily Telegraph the company was "fully cooperating" with law enforcement.
He said the company requires a driver's license, insurance information and a credit card deposit to rent a truck.
Timeline: Terror on Halloween
- Rental ute ploughs down pedestrians on Manhattan cycle path about 3pm October 31 local time.
- Two adults, two children hurt after ute hits school bus.
- Suspect, Sayfullo Saipov, shot by police after jumping out of the vehicle with two fake guns.
- Suspect taken to hospital in police custody.
- Police confirm eight dead, more than a dozen injured.
- NYC Mayor says it was an 'act of terror'.
- Police investigate Home Depot rental lot in New Jersey.
Halloween celebrations continue
New York City's annual Halloween parade has gone ahead just over a kilometre away from where the attack took place.
The parade marched on with extra police, heavy weapons teams and sand trucks as protective blockers along the parade route.
Officials have stressed that New Yorkers should feel safe in the attack aftermath.
Mayor de Blasio told residents to go about their business and not be deterred.
Governor Andrew Cuomo visited the route as the parade began.
Trump makes IS link
Loved ones are now mourning the first deaths from a terror-linked attack in New York since September 11, 2001.
The attack is also the city's first such incident since a pipe bomb explosion in September 2016 in Chelsea, which wounded 31 people.
The city, with a population of 8.5 million, has frequently been on high-security alert since the 2001 Al-Qaeda attacks on the Twin Towers.
US President Donald Trump described the alleged attacker as "very sick" and a "deranged person".
"We must not allow ISIS to return, or enter, our country after defeating them in the Middle East and elsewhere. Enough!" Mr Trump tweeted hours after the incident began.
"In NYC, looks like another attack by a very sick and deranged person," he said.
"Law enforcement is following this closely. NOT IN THE U.S.A.!"
A police spokesman earlier posted a photo showing a white ute on the bike path with its front end smashed. The truck had the logo of the Home Depot hardware store chain on its door.
Police chief O'Neill confirmed that eight people were killed in the attack, at least six were men.
No Australians are believed to have been injured or killed.
"The State Department has informed us that at this stage they do not believe any Australians are affected but the situation is still unfolding," Acting Prime Minister Julie Bishop told ABC radio on Wednesday.
Bicycles and debris lie on a bike path after a motorist drove onto the path near the World Trade Center memorial (AAP) Source: AAP
Australia's Consul-General to New York Alastair Walton was in the area along the Hudson River when the attack happened.
"He said there are children everywhere in New York today because of course it's Halloween and it's an enormous celebration," Ms Bishop said.
"We think of those who have been affected by this, particularly those who have been killed, their family and friends must be devastated."
Authorities respond near a damaged school bus Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, in New York (AAP) Source: AAP
'An act of terror': New York Mayor
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio called the attack an "act of terror".
"It's a very painful day in our city. Horrible tragedy," said Mayor de Blasio.
"Let me be clear, based on the information we have at this moment, this was an act of terror and a particularly cowardly act of terror aimed at innocent civilians, aimed at people going about their lives who had no idea what was about to hit them," he added.
"We at this moment based on the information we have, we know of eight innocent people who have lost their lives. And over a dozen more injured."
New York's Democratic State Governor Andrew Cuomo said that "New York is an international symbol of freedom and democracy."
"That also makes us a target for those people who oppose those concepts and we've lived with this before," he said.
In this still image taken from video, emergency personnel respond to victims (AAP) Source: AAP
History of 'mass casualty' incidents
The last mass casualty incident in New York was on May 18, when a US Navy veteran drove a car into pedestrians in Times Square, killing an 18-year-old woman from Michigan and injuring 22 other people.
Police patrols in Times Square, one of the world's busiest districts, had already been beefed up in recent years, following a 2010 car bombing attempt and in the wake of attacks in Europe.
A witness who gave his name only as Frank told local television network NY1 that he saw a man running around an intersection, heard five to six gunshots and saw "about 100 cops" flood into the street.
"I saw he had something in his hand, but I couldn't tell what it was. But they said that it was a gun, so I was like: 'Oh my God,'" the witness told NY1.
"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."
Emergency personnel secure the scene of an incident where a man reportedly drove a truck along a bike lane in downtown New York, New York, USA Source: AAP
It was the most serious security breach in New York since Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani immigrant, plant a car bomb in Times Square on May 1, 2010.
His explosive device failed to detonate and he was arrested shortly after boarding a flight to the Middle East. He pleaded guilty and said he was aiming to avenge deaths from US missiles fired from drones operating over Pakistan.
He was sentenced to life behind bars.
-With AFP and AAP
