The man who brought terror to lower Manhattan on Tuesday (October 31) has been identified and video footage that captures him escaping his vehicle on foot shows his bizarre actions in the moments prior to police catching up to him and putting a stop to his rampage.
Based on what investigators have gathered thus far, 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov of Tampa, FL deliberately mowed down several people traveling down the bike path that runs along the West Side Highway. He is believed to have hopped the curb and sped through foot traffic for an estimated 14 blocks before turning on Chambers Street. Saipov's killing spree came to an end when he crashed into a vehicle on West Street.
Although Saipov - an Uzbek national - is believed to have operated alone, the incident is being called a terrorist attack. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio referred to it as such while addressing the news at a press conference he delivered some hours later. "This was an act of terror, and a particularly cowardly act of terror aimed at innocent civilians," de Blasio said, after calling Tuesday "a very painful day in our city."
In the recording taken by students at nearby Stuyvesant High School, Saipov scrambles around with what was later identified as a paintball gun in his hand. Soon after he evacuated his vehicle Saipov was shot in the abdomen and taken into police custody.
Source: YouTube
