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Man hits at least 8 people with U-Haul truck in New York City the day Islamic terrorist faces sentencing for killing 8 people with rental years earlier
Image source: Twitter video, @rawsalerts - Screenshot

Man hits at least 8 people with U-Haul truck in New York City the day Islamic terrorist faces sentencing for killing 8 people with rental years earlier

A 62-year-old Asian man driving a U-Haul truck allegedly ran over several people in New York City Monday before leading police on a high-speed chase. While two of the victims are in critical condition and another two are in serious condition, no one has yet died from their injuries.

This grievous attack, which Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell described as a "violent rampage through Brooklyn," coincided with the beginning of death penalty sentencing for convicted Islamic terrorist Sayfullo Saipov, who murdered eight people in 2017 while similarly driving a rented truck in New York City.

What are the details?

Police first responded around 10:50 a.m. to reports of a single male erratically driving a U-Haul truck in the Bay Ridge area of Brooklyn.

According to the Daily Mail, the suspect, who has been identified as Weng Sor, first hit a person riding an e-bike around 11 a.m. near Fifth Avenue and Bay Ridge Parkway. When the suspect sped off, going northbound, police gave chase.

ABC7 indicated that when police attempted to pull over the suspect, he yelled, "Shoot me, I'm not stopping," and then veered onto the sidewalk.

The suspect managed to hit seven other people, including a police officer, during his 30-minute rampage before officers were finally able to bring the mayhem to an end.

Eyewitnesses saw pedestrians and e-bike riders splayed out on the ground after the truck barreled through, reported the Associated Press.

A surveillance camera captured the moment when the suspect smashed into an e-bike, sending the driver hurtling through the air, and then nearly flattening a pedestrian:

New York City Councilman Justin Brannan, who deals with Bay Ridge, indicated on Twitter that the suspect was ultimately arrested near the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, which connects Brooklyn to Manhattan.

Highway patrol units boxed the U-Haul and its driver against a building at Hamilton Avenue and Columbia Street. The suspect was taken into custody for questioning at the 68th precinct.

"At this time, we have no indication that there is any terrorism involvement in this incident, said Police Commissioner Sewell. "However, as always, we will continue to investigate this incident with the full resources of the NYPD and our partners."

The suspect reportedly rented the U-Haul in Daytona Beach, Florida, in January, and had at least one previous address in Brooklyn. The New York Post suggested that the suspect may have been living out of the truck.

While Sewell maintains that there is presently no evidence of "terrorism involvement," the coincidence of the timing of the attack and the death penalty phase of the Islamic terrorist Saipov's trial has prompted some to consider the other similarities between the two rampages.

Former NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce told ABC News, "I worked the Sayfullo Saipov case I remember how dangerous it was and what he did and how deadly it was. That was the first thing that came to mind when I heard about the rented truck. So let's hope it's not that and it's a person in mental distress at this point and it's nothing more than that. It's difficult to link the two right now but how can you not think about that?"

35-year-old Saipov drove a rented truck on a West Side bike path, murdering eight people on Oct. 31, 2017. The terrorist said he was inspired by ISIS.

Former President Donald Trump called for Saipov to be taken out via the death penalty. If Trump gets his way, Saipov will reportedly be the first person sentenced to death in the city since 1963.

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