Sayfullo Saipov: The man behind ‘cowardly act of terror’ in New York

A man in a rented van mowed down cyclists and pedestrians in New York killing eight people in what the city’s mayor called ‘a particularly cowardly act of terror’.

He careered down a popular cycle path a few streets from the World Trade Centre memorial injuring at least 11 people.

The 29-year-old driver, named by authorities as Sayfullo Saipov, was shot in the stomach by police and arrested after jumping out of the van with what turned out to be a fake gun in each hand and shouting ‘Allahu Akbar!’

The suspect, originally from Uzbekistan, has a Florida driving licence but may have been living in New Jersey.

Uber confirmed that Saipov was one if its drivers, and the company said he passed a background check and had been actively driving on the platform for more than six months.

‘We are horrified by this senseless act of violence,’ the company said in a statement. ‘Our hearts are with the victims and their families. We have reached out to law enforcement to provide our assistance.’

The driver in Tuesday’s attack barrelled along the bike path in a rented Home Depot truck for the equivalent of about 14 blocks, or around eight-tenths of a mile, before slamming into a small yellow school bus.

The mayhem and the burst of police gunfire set off panic in the neighbourhood and left the pavement strewn with mangled bicycles and bodies that were soon covered with sheets.

‘I saw a lot of blood over there. A lot of people on the ground,’ said Chen Yi, an Uber driver.

Eugene Duffy, a chef at a waterfront restaurant, said: ‘So many police came and they didn’t know what was happening. People were screaming. Females were screaming at the top of their lungs.’

Police closed off streets across the western edge of Manhattan along the Hudson River and officers rushed into the neighbourhood just as people were preparing for Halloween festivities, including the big annual parade through Greenwich Village.