2017 New York City truck attack

On the afternoon of October 31, 2017, Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov rented a pickup truck at a Home Depot in Passaic, New Jersey, drove into Manhattan via the George Washington Bridge, and turned onto the Hudson River Greenway bike path near Houston Street. Over approximately one mile, he struck cyclists and pedestrians, reaching speeds of up to 66 mph, before crashing into a school bus near Chambers Street. Eight people were killed and thirteen others were injured. Six of the eight fatalities were foreign tourists — five from Argentina, part of a group of former classmates celebrating a graduation anniversary, and one from Belgium — while two were Americans, Darren Drake and Nicholas Cleves. Additional victims included members of a second Belgian family; one woman later required a double leg amputation due to her injuries.

After the crash, Saipov exited the vehicle brandishing what were later identified as a paintball gun and a pellet gun, reportedly shouting "Allahu Akbar." He was shot in the abdomen by NYPD officer Ryan Nash and taken into custody. Investigators recovered a document expressing allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and a black flag associated with the group inside the truck. According to a criminal complaint, Saipov told police he had planned the attack for about a year, chose Halloween because he expected more people to be on the street, and had conducted a test drive along the route on October 22. ISIL later claimed responsibility for the attack in its newsletter, al-Naba, describing Saipov as a "soldier of the Caliphate."

Saipov, born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 1988, immigrated to the United States in 2010 through the Diversity Immigrant Visa program and worked variously as a truck driver and Uber driver. Federal agents had interviewed him in 2015 regarding contacts with suspected terrorists, but no case was opened at that time.

Federal prosecutors initially charged Saipov with providing material support for terrorism resulting in death; charges were later expanded to include eight counts of murder in aid of racketeering, twelve counts of attempted murder in aid of racketeering, and related counts. He pleaded not guilty in November 2017. Jury selection began in October 2022, and on January 26, 2023, Saipov was found guilty on all charges. The jury did not reach agreement on imposing the death penalty. On May 17, 2023, he was sentenced to eight consecutive life-without-parole terms, plus two concurrent life terms, plus 260 years, and is incarcerated at ADX Florence.

Following the attack, the New York City Police Department and city officials installed temporary and later permanent anti-vehicle bollards along the Hudson River Park bike path, a safety measure advocacy groups had sought since earlier fatal incidents on the path. The attack was described as the deadliest terrorist incident in New York City since September 11, 2001, and prompted public statements from then-President Donald Trump, Mayor Bill de Blasio, and Governor Andrew Cuomo, as well as debate over the Diversity Immigrant Visa program.