NEW YORK — New York Police Department released audio from its radio transmission Tuesday as first responders came arrived on the scene of a “deliberate” attack in lower Manhattan that left at eight people dead and 13 people injured, including the suspect.
A NYPD officer is heard on the radio describing “multiple people on the ground.”
“Central, be advised, we have multiple people on the ground … we need buses from Houston all the way down to Chambers … I’ve got five people on the ground,” the officer said in audio released by online scanner platform Broadcastify.
Another person on the radio confirms the report and activates a Level 1 then Level 2.
An officer is then heard saying: “We got multiple casualties … this is a mass casualty situation here …”
One officer is heard saying: “I need a bus to the bike path … and traffic needs to be shut down from 14th Street on the West Side Highway. It’s going to be a crime scene.”
NYPD commissioner James O’Neill said at a press conference two hours after the attack that a 29-year-old man driving a rented vehicle drove onto the bike path at 3:05 p.m. at Houston and West Streets. Law enforcement sources identified the man to CBS News as Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov.
He struck several bikers and pedestrians before colliding with a school bus at Chambers and West Streets, O’Neill said. He exited the vehicle brandishing imitation firearms and yelled a statement before he was shot by police, O’Neill said. He was taken to a local hospital and is now in custody.
Six people were pronounced dead at the scene between Houston and Chambers streets, FDNY commissioner Daniel A. Nigro said. Two others were in traumatic arrest and pronounced dead at the hospital, Nigro said. Eleven people are being treated for injuries, Nigro said.
O’Neill said the incident is being investigated as a terrorist attack. Sources told CBS News that Saipovm yelled “God is great” in Arabic when he exited the vehicle.
Meanwhile, President Trump called the terror attack was carried out “by a very sick and deranged person.”
In NYC, looks like another attack by a very sick and deranged person. Law enforcement is following this closely. NOT IN THE U.S.A.!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2017
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Mr. Trump has been briefed on the incident by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and “will be continually updated as more details are known.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected,” Sanders added.
