Investigators worked through the night to determine what led a truck driver to plow down people on a riverfront bike path near the World Trade Center, brandishing air guns and yelling "God is great" in Arabic as his deadly route of terror ended with a crash, authorities said. Eight people were killed and 11 seriously injured in a Halloween afternoon attack that the mayor called "a particularly cowardly act of terror."
The driver - identified by officials as an immigrant from Uzbekistan - was in critical condition but expected to survive after a police officer shot him in the abdomen. A roughly two-mile stretch of highway in downtown Manhattan was shut down for the investigation. Authorities also converged on a New Jersey home and a van in a parking lot at a New Jersey Home Depot store.
Authorities were scrutinizing a note found inside the attacker's rented truck, according to two law enforcement officials who were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke on the condition of anonymity. Police and the FBI urged members of the public to give them any photos or video that could help. The attack echoed a strategy that the Islamic State group has been suggesting to its followers.
While police didn't specifically blame any group for the strike, President Donald Trump railed against the Islamic State and declared "enough!" and "NOT IN THE U.S.A.!"
How do WE protect ourselves. Law Enforcement veteran Rich Emberlin offers some straight talk.