Authorities Brand Deadly Halloween Attack in New York a Terrorism

The suspect, who was shot by police and arrested moments after Tuesday's rampage on the Lower West Side of Manhattan, left a note saying he carried out the attack in the name of the militant Islamic State group, the New York Times and CNN said.

The death toll paled in comparison to dozens killed in similar assaults last year in France and Germany. However, it was still the bloodiest single attack on New Yorkers since Sept. 11, 2001, when suicide hijackers crashed two jetliners into the World Trade Center, killing more than 2,600 people.

The Twin Towers site was just a few blocks from the scene of the carnage left when the suspect swerved the pickup onto a path filled with pedestrians and bicyclists on a sunny, crisp autumn afternoon.

Read: Halloween Parade Marches on amid Heavy Security After Attack

Driving at speeds estimated at more than 60 mph (100 km/h), the vehicle mowed down everyone in its path before slamming into the side of a school bus.

The man then climbed out of the vehicle brandishing what appeared to be a pair of handguns before he was confronted by a city police officer, who shot him in the abdomen. Police said they recovered paint-ball gun and a pellet gun from the scene.

The attack was over in a matter of seconds. Video footage taken by a bystander that circulated online showed crumpled bicycles scattered along the path, and at least two people lying on the ground.

In addition to the eight fatalities, at least 11 people were hospitalized for injuries described by fire officials as serious but not life-threatening. That excluded the suspect, who underwent surgery for gunshot wounds.

Six victims were pronounced dead at the scene and two more at a nearby hospital, Police Commissioner James O'Neill said.

Five of the dead were Argentine citizens, visiting New York as part of a group of friends celebrating the 30th anniversary of their high school graduation, the Argentina Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Belgium's foreign minister said a Belgian citizen was also among those killed.

Police declined to publicly identify the man, but a source familiar with the investigation said his name was Sayfullo Saipov, 29. He reportedly lived in Paterson, New Jersey, a one-time industrial hub about 25 miles (40 km) northwest of lower Manhattan.

He had rented the pick-up from a Home Depot hardware store which, according to media accounts, was located in Passaic, just south of Paterson.

Despite the attack, thousands of costumed Halloween revelers turned out hours later for New York City's main Halloween parade, which went on as scheduled on Tuesday night with a heightened police presence just a few blocks away.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has pressed for a ban on travelers entering the United States from some predominantly Muslim countries, said on Twitter that he had ordered Homeland Security officials to "step up our already Extreme Vetting Program. Being politically correct is fine, but not for this!"

REUTERS