New York terror attack: Driver of truck used to kill 8 people identified as Sayfullo Saipov

The man suspected of using a rented pickup truck to mow down pedestrians and cyclists along a busy bike path near the World Trade Center memorial in New York on Tuesday (31 October) has been named by police as Sayfullo Saipov.

At least eight people were killed and 11 others, including two children, were seriously injured as the Tampa Bay resident drove a rented Home Depot flat-bed truck along the path before slamming into a school bus.

Police said the incident occurred at around 3pm on West Street, a few blocks from the new World Trade Center, the site of the deadliest terror attack in US history.

The truck then turned at Chambers Street, hitting the school bus and injuring two adults and two children.

Officials say the 29-year-old, who has a Florida driver's licence, is originally from Uzbekistan and came to the US in 2010.

After jumping out of the truck wielding what turned out to be a pellet gun and a paintball gun, Saipov was shot in the abdomen by an on-duty police officer who was at the scene.

Tom Gay, a school photographer, heard people saying there was an accident and went down to West Street, where a woman came around the corner shouting, "He has a gun! He has a gun!"

Gay said he stuck his head around the corner and saw a slender man in a blue track suit running on West Street holding a gun. He said a heavyset man was chasing him. He said he heard five or six shots, and the man in the tracksuit fell to the ground, gun still raised in the air.

Eyewitnesses reported chaotic scenes as the bodies of two of the victims lay on the pavement. "I saw a lot of blood over there. A lot of people on the ground," Chen Yi, an Uber driver told AP.

Eugene Duffy, a chef at a waterfront restaurant, said: "So many police came and they didn't know what was happening. People were screaming. Females were screaming at the top of their lungs."

Witnesses reported that the suspect was confused and in a panicked state as he began screaming "Allahu Akbar", Arabic for "God is great".

Images circulated on social media showed him on the ground as he is restrained by officers. He was then taken to hospital where he underwent an emergency surgery and is expected to survive.

New York City Police Commissioner James O'Neill said the statement made by the driver as he got out of the truck and the method of attack led police to conclude it was a terrorist act.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the incident a "lone wolf" attack and said there was no evidence to suggest it was part of a wider plot.

On Twitter, President Donald Trump called it "another attack by a very sick and deranged person" and declared, "NOT IN THE U.S.A." In an official statement he praised the first responders who restrained the suspect and assisted the victims of the attack.

While police did not specifically blame the Islamic State for the New York bloodshed, Trump railed against the extremist group, tweeting: "We must not allow ISIS to return, or enter, our country after defeating them in the Middle East and elsewhere. Enough!"

World leaders have been offering their condolences to the citizens of Manhattan. London Mayor Sadiq Khan hailed the strength and the resilience of New Yorkers, while Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his sympathies for the victims.

The New York Police Department and the fire services have confirmed that the annual Halloween parade will go ahead as planned in defiance of those who threaten our way of life.