OFFENDERS CAPTURED: At least eight dead in terrorist act in New York City

In an alleged terrorist attack in New York City, the driver of a transport vehicle apparently randomly killed cyclists and passers-by on Halloween.

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Everything was well prepared for the traditional Halloween parade through Greenwich Village in New York – then on Tuesday afternoon (local time) panic suddenly broke out not far from the parade route. Shortly after 3 p.m. local time, a hitherto unknown man drove a hired transport vehicle indiscriminately into cyclists and passers-by on a pedestrian and bike path in Lower Manhattan that ran along the main traffic axis West Street (also called West Side Highway) on the Hudson River. His odyssey lasted around 20 blocks. According to initial information, the gunman came to a standstill after a few minutes near Chambers Street, not far from One World Trade Center, the location of the former World Trade Center – after his “Home Depot” delivery van crashed into a school bus and another vehicle . New York police managed to hunt down the 29-year-old driver of the rental car after a brief shooting. He uttered the battle cry “Allahu Akbar”, in German: “God is great”. He was taken into custody and taken to hospital care. The police immediately said that there was no longer any danger to the general public. It was a lone perpetrator. According to initial information, the man killed at least eight people on the West Side Highway Bike Path and injured eleven people, some seriously. According to the news channel CNN, investigators said that the driver of the vehicle was not from New York. His identity has not been disclosed for the time being.

Eyewitnesses said in initial reactions they thought of a (bad) Halloween joke when they saw the driver and the police. “We believe the guns are a fake,” one New Yorker told a local tabloid. Investigators quickly said that there was a suspicion that the incident was a terrorist attack – also because the driver had followed instructions issued by the terrorist group Islamic State with the help of transport vehicles causing death and desolation in crowds. Last year, the traditional Thanksgiving Parade in New York City was named as a possible target. In Washington, President Donald Trump was immediately informed of the incident. From the White House it was said: “Our thoughts are with those affected and their families.”

In a first statement, the chief of the New York City Police, James O’Neill, spoke of an “immense tragedy”. Democratic mayor Bill De Blasio, who is up for re-election next week, said: “That was an act of terrorism, an extremely cowardly act of terrorism.” The population of the largest city in the United States will not be intimidated by such an incident – so the city held on to the Halloween parade.

The last terrorist attack in New York occurred a little more than 16 years ago: on September 11, 2001, close to the West Highway, more than 2,600 people died when the World Trade Center collapsed.

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