Media Briefing on Apparent Terror Attack in Lower Manhattan

October 31, 2017

Video available at: http://youtu.be/6SNoEQMgA4w

The FBI and NYPD are seeking the public's assistance in the investigation into the terrorist act that occurred in lower Manhattan on October 31, 2017. The public is urged to share any images or videos that could assist in the investigation to the FBI link: www.fbi.gov/nyctribeca

In addition, any information to assist in this investigation can be called into either the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS or for Spanish 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).

REMARKS, AS DELIVERED, BY POLICE COMMISSIONER JAMES P. O'NEILL REGARDING THE TERRORIST ACT THAT OCCURRED IN LOWER MANHATTAN

Police Commissioner James P. O'Neill: Good afternoon, everybody. Just keep in mind that this incident occurred a little more than two hours ago, so all the information that we are giving you right now is preliminary and subject to change.

After I speak, you are going to hear from Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio; Bill Sweeney, the Assistant Director in charge of the New York FBI office, is standing up here with me, too; we have members of my executive staff. We have Cy Vance, and members of the state police.

First, I just want to say that today, there was a loss of innocent life in Lower Manhattan. The dead and injured were just going about their days, heading home from work or from school, or enjoying the afternoon sun on bicycles. This is a tragedy of the greatest magnitude – for many people, for many families – here in New York City and beyond, today.

I want to commend the response of our NYPD officer that was on post near the location, who stopped the carnage moments after it began. Also work – the work of the first responders, including the fire department and the EMS personnel, surely helped save additional lives.

As I said, I will give more of a chronology in a couple of minutes, but right now I'd like to introduce Mayor de Blasio.

[Mayor de Blasio speaks]

[Governor Cuomo speaks]

Police Commissioner James P. O'Neill: Thanks Governor Cuomo. Thank you Mr. Mayor. All right, as I said, I'm going to go through the chronology here. I know when I'm done, you're going to have a lot of questions. But we're not going to go too deep into it. It's only two hours. And after I get done with the chronology, Dan Nigro's going to talk about the injuries.

All right, so at 3:05 pm., a male driving a rented Home Depot pickup truck entered the West Side Highway bicycle path at Houston Street, began driving southbound, striking a number of pedestrians and bicyclists along the route. At Chambers Street, the truck collided with a school bus, injuring two adults and two children. After the collision, the driver of the truck – a 29-year-old male – exited the vehicle, brandishing two handguns. The uniformed police officer assigned to the 1st Precinct, confronted the subject and shot him in the abdomen. The subject was wounded and transported to a local hospital. A paintball gun and a pellet gun were recovered at the scene. The subject's identity is not being released at this time, pending further investigation. At this point, there are eight fatalities reported in connection with this incident. In addition, several people have been injured and Commissioner Nigro from our fire department will discuss that. Dan?

[FDNY Commissioner Nigro speaks]

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