New York police sawed through the outside of a school bus to free shocked passengers trapped inside after a terrorist drove a truck down down a bike path on the West Side of Manhattan Tuesday afternoon, killing at least eight and wounding 15.
Sayfullo Saipov, 29, entered the West Side Highway bike path by Houston Street and drove 20 blocks hitting cyclists and pedestrians before careening into a bus, injuring two adults and two children on board.
“They were sawing through a school bus window. They broke all of the windows and were trying to pull kids out. There was a man covering a child with a blanket. There was one kid who was stuck,” Olivia Raykhman, who witnessed the immediate aftermath, told The New York Times.
Saipov exited his truck after the collision reportedly yelling “Allahu Akbar” and opened fire on the surrounding cars before being shot in the abdomen by an NYPD officer. (RELATED: Truck Driver Terrorist Identified As 29-Year-Old Sayfullo Saipov)
“I approached to see if I could help and they did not need help — they appeared to be dead,” one witness told The New York Times of the attack on the bike path. It was surreal.”
One woman who came face to face with the terrorist described the scene after he exited his truck and began shooting.
“She was right in front of the shooter. He had two guns,” the woman said of her daughter.
Raykhman was told to take shelter in nearby Stuyvesant High School, where students had gathered on the upper floors and were filming the chaos unfolding below and posting the clips to various social media outlets.
Saipov, who immigrated from the U.S. from Uzbekistan in 2010, previously worked as an Uber driver.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.