Photo: Getty Images
At least eight people were injured in New York City after a U-Haul driver went on a violent rampage in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, on Monday (February 13). Two were listed in critical condition.
Officials said that the driver struck a pedestrian, who was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. He then sped away from the scene and struck three other people riding mopeds.
No other details were released about the other people who were injured.
The driver was eventually stopped by police not far from the Brooklyn-Battery tunnel, which leads to lower Manhattan.
After the driver was taken into custody, the bomb squad was called to search the truck for explosives and found nothing suspicious.
Authorities have not released the driver's identity or a motive for the violent rampage.
Former NYPD Chief of Detectives Roberts Boyce told WABC the incident reminded him of the time in 2017 when several people were killed when a man drove a truck into a crowd of people on the sidewalk in Manhattan.
"It's the first thing I thought," Boyce said. "I worked the Sayfull 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 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?"
New York City Councilmember Justin Brannan told the news station that officers tried to stop the suspect before the rampage, and he reportedly told them 'I want to die.'
It is unclear if the two incidents were related, but a jury was scheduled to meet on Monday to decide whether Saipov should face the death penalty.