Several people were killed and numerous others injured in Lower Manhattan today after a truck plowed along a bike path before cops took the driver into custody.
The driver of the truck, hired from Home Depot, opened fires on the police in his unsuccessful attempt to flee.
While no other details were immediately available, The New York Daily News reported the gunman emerged from a crashed Home Depot truck and opened fired after apparently plowing down four riders on a Lower Manhattan bike path.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said he had been briefed about the incident and that "there is no active threat now".
The New York Police Department (NYPD) said that there were "numerous deaths and injuries" but could not provide any confirmation on the number of causalities.
"There are several fatalities and numerous people injured," the NYPD said.
The local media reports, however, said at least six people were killed and 15 others injured in the incident.
"Currently there is one person in custody. No others outstanding. All information is preliminary as the investigation is ongoing," said the New York Police Department on its twitter account. It was scheduled to hold a news conference soon.
"I thought it was Halloween (prank) or something," the Daily News quoted an eyewitness Tawhid Kabir, 20, of Queens as saying.
"I saw the gun running in a circle and I realised it was serious," he said.
Another eyewitness, 44-year-old Eugene Duff, told New York Daily News that he saw white Home Depot truck run down a pair of CitiBike riders as the driver sped along the busy path off the Hudson River.
A police officer was apparently shot and suffered a minor injury.
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