Late Tuesday afternoon, at about 3:05 p.m., a rental truck was driven into people in lower Manhattan, killing 8 and injuring 12 more. The suspect was since apprehended and taken into police custody.
This act has been identified as a terrorist attack – the deadliest one since the attacks on September 11, 2001, according to police and FBI officials.
The suspect, 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov, is an immigrant from Uzbekistan who legally moved to the United States in 2010. Saipov is believed to have acted alone in this attack; there is no evidence at this point that suggests that he is affiliated with ISIS or any other terrorist organizations, according to a report by CBS New York.
“Our only evidence to date is that this was an isolated incident that he himself performed,” said New York Governor Andrew Cuomo during an appearance on CNN’s New Day.
Saipov appeared in a civilian court around 6 p.m. Wednesday night. Court papers revealed that he had been planning the attack for about a year, according to The Washington Post.
He carried out the attack on the eve of Halloween, knowing that more people would be in the streets and he would have the chance to harm as many as possible, according to prosecutors.
His self-proclaimed inspiration for carrying out the attacks was ISIS propaganda videos, according to the court papers. In one particular video that served as inspiration, ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi persuades Muslims in the U.S. to commit acts of violence in response to the killing of Muslims in Iraq.
The charges against Saipov include providing material to support terrorists and violence and destruction of motor vehicles, according to The New York Times.
