ISIS Terror Attack Near World Trade Center Leaves 8 Dead, Dozen Injured

Eight people were killed and almost a dozen others were injured when a man in a rented flatbed pickup drove down a busy bicycle path near the World Trade Center on Tuesday, police said at a news conference.

Authorities found a note, written in English, claiming the suspect in the attack in New York did it in the name of ISIS, a senior law enforcement official told CNN.

"This was an act of terror, and a particularly cowardly act of terror," New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said, "aimed at innocent civilians, aimed at people going about their lives who had no idea what was about to hit them."

The 29-year-old suspect was identified by two law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation as Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov. He is from the central Asian nation of Uzbekistan and came to the United States in 2010, sources told CNN.

Here are the latest developments in the attack:

• The suspect, who was shot by police, is out of surgery, a law enforcement source told CNN. Officers were able to talk to him before the surgery, the source said. It is not known if he told them anything.

• Saipov most recently lived in New Jersey, a law enforcement source said. Neighbors said he did recently live in Paterson, not far from New York, at least part time.

• The man rented the truck in New Jersey on Tuesday, a person briefed on the investigation told CNN.

• President Donald Trump tweeted that the incident "looks like another attack by a very sick and deranged person." In a later tweet, he wrote, "My thoughts, condolences and prayers to the victims and families of the New York City terrorist attack. God and your country are with you!"

• Argentina's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Twitter that Argentine citizens were killed, but did not disclose how many had died. A Belgian national also was a victim of the attack, Didier Reynders, deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister for Belgium, said on Twitter.

• New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo directed One World Trade Center to be lit in red, white and blue in honor of freedom and democracy, his office said.

Rented truck used

The incident is being investigated as terrorism, officials said. Witnesses reported the suspect was yelling "Allahu Akbar," according to four law enforcement sources. The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force is taking over the lead of the investigation.

Vehicles have been used as weapons in a number of terrorist attacks in recent years, including in deadly incidents in London and Nice, France.

The suspect, driving in a Home Depot rental truck, hopped a curb at West Houston Street and drove south on the bike path on the west side of West Side Highway in lower Manhattan for several blocks, officials said.

After crashing the truck into a school bus, the suspect exited the vehicle while displaying imitation firearms and was shot in the abdomen by a police officer, according to the NYPD.

A pellet gun and a paintball gun were recovered from the scene, officials said.

Just after the incident, news footage showed several mangled bicycles on the popular bike path as medics tended to the wounded in the background.

Six people were declared dead at the scene and two were pronounced dead at the hospital. At lease 11 others were transported to the hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, according to New York Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro.

A spokesman for Home Depot confirmed one of the company's rental trucks was part of an incident in lower Manhattan and said the company is "cooperating with authorities" in the investigation.

The suspect had multiple interactions with law enforcement in several states, online records show. Saipov had traffic citations issued in Missouri and Pennsylvania. He was arrested by the Missouri State Highway Patrol in October 2016 after a warrant was issued when he failed to show in court for a misdemeanor offense.