Following Tuesday afternoon’s vehicular terror attack in Lower Manhattan that killed eight people, the suspect has been charged with federal terrorism offenses, CNN reports. 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov has been charged with “providing material support to ISIS and violence and destruction of motor vehicles.”
The attack’s official tie to ISIS was discovered when a handwritten note in both Arabic and English was found in the area, saying that the Islamic State would endure. Appearing in federal court on Wednesday, Saipov, an Uber driver, confirmed that the attack was inspired by ISIS videos, 90 of which were found on his cell phone. John Miller, NYPD deputy commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism, said of the ISIS influence, “He appears to have followed almost exactly to a ‘T’ the instructions that ISIS has put out in its social media channels before.”
NYPD: Suspect had been planning attack for “a number of weeks,” followed ISIS instructions “almost exactly to a ‘T'” https://t.co/ozL4b2GvoX
— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 1, 2017
Officials say that the attack had been planned a year in advance, but Saipov decided to utilize a truck only two months ago, following a pattern of vehicular terror attacks seen in Europe this year. According to a federal criminal complaint, he chose to use a truck to “inflict maximum damage against civilians.” The decision to act on Halloween was to ensure that more people would be out on the streets. While Saipov presumably acted alone, a fellow Uzbek native believed to be associated with him is currently being questioned about the attack.
Meanwhile, Saipov’s victims have been identified as two American men, a Belgian woman and five Argentinian friends celebrating the 30th anniversary of their high school graduation.
The New York Police Department has released the names of the eight victims killed in Tuesday’s terror attack https://t.co/4xMuUJLpo8 pic.twitter.com/SnE1NnRez0
— CNN (@CNN) November 1, 2017
Our thoughts are with the victims and their families during this horrible time.