Investigators worked through the night to determine what led a truck driver to plow down people on a riverfront bike path near the World Trade Center, brandishing air guns and yelling "God is great" in Arabic as his deadly route of terror ended with a crash, authorities said.
Eight people were killed and 11 seriously injured in a Halloween afternoon attack that the mayor called "a particularly cowardly act of terror."
The driver identified by officials as an immigrant from Uzbekistan was in critical condition but expected to survive after a police officer shot him in the abdomen.
A roughly two-mile stretch of highway in downtown Manhattan was shut down for the investigation. Authorities also converged on a New Jersey apartment building and a van in a parking lot at a New Jersey Home Depot store.
Authorities were scrutinising a note found inside the attacker's rented truck, according to two law enforcement officials who were not authorised to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Governor Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday on "CBS This Morning" the note made a reference to ISIS.
Police and the FBI urged members of the public to give them any photos or video that could help. The attack echoed a strategy that the Islamic State group has been suggesting to its followers.
While police didn't specifically blame any group for the strike, President Donald Trump railed against the Islamic State and declared "enough!" and "NOT IN THE U.S.A.!"
The victims reflected a city that is a melting pot and a magnet for visitors: One of the dead was from Belgium. Five were from Argentina and were celebrating the 30th anniversary of a school graduation, according to officials in those countries.
The injured included students and staffers on a school bus that the driver rammed.
"This was an act of terror, and a particularly cowardly act of terror aimed at innocent civilians, aimed at people going about their lives who had no idea what was about to hit them," said Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat.
Today, New Yorkers woke to a heavy police presence outside the World Trade Center and at other locations around the city. Runners and cyclists who use the popular bike path for their pre-dawn exercise were diverted away from the crime scene by officers stationed at barricades just north of where the rampage began, and a wide corridor of streets have been blocked.
Dave Hartie, 57, who works in financial restructuring, said he rides his bike along the path every morning. "It's great to be in the city and have that kind of peace." Asked about the attack he said, "It's the messed up world we live in these days. Part of me is surprised it doesn't happen more often.
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