NYC Bike Path Attack: How it Unfolded

A man in a rented Home Depot pickup truck killed eight people and injured 15 others Tuesday when he drove along a bike path near the World Trade Center memorial.

The damage unfolded in a matter of minutes.


At 2:06 p.m., suspect Sayullo Saipov rented a truck.

He rented it from a Home Depot in Passaic, New Jersey, NYPD Deputy Police Commissioner John Miller said.

He entered Manhattan via the George Washington Bridge at 2:43 p.m.


At 3:04 p.m., the driver entered the bike path at Houston Street.

He drove south on the West Street pedestrian/bike path for just under a mile, mowing down pedestrians and bicyclists.

The truck hit a school bus near Chambers Street.

The driver got out of the truck brandishing what appeared to be two firearms. They were later recovered and determined to be a paintball gun and a pellet gun.

Ryan Nash, an NYPD officer from Long Island, shot the suspect in the abdomen. He was taken into custody and brought to Bellevue Hospital.


By 3:08 p.m., more than a dozen 911 calls come in reporting the incident.

Over the course of about five minutes, police and dispatchers are captured on the scanner requesting units to West and Chambers streets and relaying information as it comes out.


The suspect was identified as Sayfullo Saipov.

A source identified the suspect as Sayfullo Saipov. He has a Florida license but was living in New Jersey.

Witnesses told police the suspect shouted “Allah Akbar,” which means “God is great,” when he exited the truck, a law enforcement source said.

Warning: Graphic video follows.

Officials call the attack ‘an act of terror.’

At a 5:15 p.m. news conference, officials called the attack an act of terror.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said the suspect was acting as a lone wolf, and there was no evidence of a “wider plot.”

President Donald Trump tweeted about the incident at 5:30 p.m.

… followed by First Lady Melania Trump.

The President continued with additional tweets in the hours afterward.

His official statement promised a joint NYPD and FBI investigation.

Originally published: Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017