Authorities in New York city have now confirmed that eight people have been killed and many more have been seriously injured after a pickup truck ploughed through a crowd of people.
It is understood the driver who has since been shot in the abdomen and apprehended by police drove through a crowd of cyclists on a bike path in Manhattan.
Reports say the driver also got out of the vehicle shouting ‘allahau Akbar’ which means ‘God is great’.
A number of eyewitnesses say the suspect was also armed with a pellet gun and a paintball gun before he was shot by police.