A New York Police Department officer stands next to a body covered under a white sheet near a mangled bike along a bike path Tuesday Oct. 31, 2017, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
Update: New York City police say there are “several fatalities and numerous people injured” after a motorist drove onto a busy bicycle path and struck several people, then emerged from the vehicle screaming and firing something that appeared to be a gun.
The department writes on Twitter that the suspect got out of the vehicle displaying imitation firearms and was shot by police officers. Police say the person is in custody.
A man who was riding in an Uber along the West Side Highway near the World Trade Center says he saw several bleeding people on the ground after a truck struck several people.
A witness said the truck had also collided with a small bus and one other vehicle.
NEW YORK (AP) — A motorist drove onto a busy bicycle path near the World Trade Center memorial and struck several people Tuesday, then emerged from the vehicle screaming and firing what appeared to be a gun, police and witnesses said.
At least two bodies could be seen lying motionless on the path beneath tarps near mangled bicycles.
The New York Police Department posted on its Twitter feed that one person was in custody. The department said it was unclear whether anyone was shot or whether the injured were all struck by the vehicle.
A man who was riding in an Uber along the West Side Highway near Chambers Street said he saw several bleeding people on the ground after a truck struck several people. Another witness said the truck had also collided with a small bus and one other vehicle.
Tom Gay, a school photographer, was on Warren Street and heard people saying there was an accident. He went down to West Street and a woman came around the corner shouting, “He has a gun! He has a gun!”
Gay said he stuck his head around the corner and saw a slender man in a blue tracksuit running southbound on West Street holding a gun. He said there was a heavyset man pursuing him.
He said he heard five or six shots and the man in the tracksuit fell to the ground, gun still raised in the air. He said a man came over and kicked the gun out of his hand.
Uber driver Chen Yi said he saw a truck plow into people on a popular bike path adjacent to the West Side Highway. He said he then heard seven to eight shots and then police pointing a gun at a man kneeling on the pavement.
“I saw a lot of blood over there. A lot of people on the ground,” Yi said.
His passenger, Dmitry Metlitsky, said he also saw police standing near a man who was on his knees with his hands up, and another man bleeding on the ground nearby. He said the truck had also collided with a small school bus and one other vehicle.
Police were expected to give a news briefing shortly.
