Culture

Several People Have Been Killed Or Injured In NYC After A Truck Plowed Into Cyclists And Shots Were Fired

Shutterstock

On Tuesday afternoon in New York City, NBC News reported that at least 8 people were killed (with at least 12 injured) after shots rang out in the city’s Tribeca neighborhood of lower Manhattan. However, details surrounding the violence quickly indicated that this wasn’t a clear-cut shooting, for Fox News’ Shepard Smith reported on a live broadcast that multiple cyclists and/or pedestrians were struck by a truck.

That last detail gained clarity from NYC’s Pix 11, which said several people were struck by a Home Depot truck that “appear[ed] to have driven down the bike lane on the street.” CNN added that the shots that were fired came from police after the truck drove down the bike path for nearly a mile. Per NBC 4 in New York, the violence took place near West Street and Chamber Street, close to the September 11 Memorial site. The area also includes Stuyvesant High School and a community college.

The incident, which is now (via CBS) being investigated as terrorism, saw the NYPD quickly tweet that one suspect was in custody, and they’re not looking for other suspects at this time. Official tweets from the NYPD’s account confirmed that the truck-related incident and the gunfire were one and the same. That is, the NYPD said, “The suspect exited the vehicle displaying imitation firearms & was shot by NYPD” after driving down the bike path. The suspect’s medical condition is not yet known, although he remains in custody.

Live broadcast footage from CNN’s Jake Tapper indicated that the driver struck a school bus (injuring four people) during its rampage. This set of Snapchat captures shows the truck after it came to a stop.

On social media, users posted photos and videos of the police and first responder presence above Tribeca and on the street level.

https://twitter.com/JackSmithIV/status/925446808372998146

https://twitter.com/mdudas/status/925450335929487360

UPDATE #1 – 5:30pm EST: While reacting to this news at a press conference, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio condemned this attack as “an act of terror, and a particularly cowardly act of terror aimed at innocent civilians.”

(Via NBC New York, Fox News, CBS News, Pix 11 & CNN)