At least 8 people are dead and others injured after a truck drove onto a bike path in lower Manhattan in New York City in what law enforcement officials called “a deliberate act.”
A gunman opened fire from a Home Depot truck that apparently plowed down four riders on a bike path Tuesday off the Hudson River in Lower Manhattan, eyewitnesses said.
The NYPD reported one man was in custody after initial reports of gunfire set off a mad scramble in the downtown area.
Witnesses reported seeing a gunman firing from inside a Home Depot tuck, and video showed a truck from the home improvement store sitting on a median.
“He shot about 15 times toward the pier and down West St.” one witness told the Daily News. There was no immediate word on deaths or injuries, although witnesses said two bodies were covered with blankets at the scene.
The smell of gun powder hung in the air as police shut down the West Side Highway in mid-afternoon on Halloween.
Mayor de Blasio was briefed on the situation, and confirmed there was no active threat.
Witness Frank Brito, 45, told the News he saw two trucks crash into each other and then a heavy set man get out of one in a blue tracksuit and chase someone, firing five or six times.
Reports of an active shooter came in about 3 p.m.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio are heading to the scene.
The FBI is also responding to the incident.
Police warned that New Yorkers should expect many emergency personnel in the area.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill will be conducting a media briefing at 1 Police Plaza at 5:15 p.m. ET.
