There are fatalities after a truck drove the wrong way down the West Side Highway bike path for several blocks Tuesday afternoon, striking several people, according to sources at the New York Police Department.
The driver exited the vehicle with what appeared to be a gun and was shot by police, the sources added. The individual is in police custody and is being taken to the hospital for treatment.
As many as six people are dead, according to two law enforcement sources, who added that it appears to be deliberate act.
No others are being sought, the NYPD said. Police said to expect “many emergency personnel” in the area of Chambers Street and West Street on the lower west side of Manhattan.
The source said police are considering terrorism as part of the investigation.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo both said they are heading to the scene.
News footage showed crowds of spectators — some capturing the scene with cellphone cameras — gathered behind police lines. A white Home Depot truck with the front end smashed in was also visible.
Parts of several mangled bicycles littered the popular bike path along the West Side Highway and the Hudson River, as medics tended to the wounded in the background.
“What I saw was that the driver — he didn’t look like he was bleeding,” said Ramon Cruz, a witness. “He was dragging his foot. He looks frustrated, panicked, confused. People are running past me, saying, ‘He’s got a gun. He’s got a gun.” I didn’t see any gun.
It was a white pickup truck. He looked pretty bad without bleeding or anything like that. I didn’t see him hit anybody. All I heard was the impact of a crash.”
Tuesday afternoon on Twitter, a user posted an image of a person lying on the ground near the scene of an incident near West & Chambers Streets in Manhattan.
