NEW YORK — The man accused of killing eight people in a truck attack in New York on Halloween is a native of Uzbekistan who moved to the United States in 2010, sources told CNN.
Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov bounced around parts of the US for several years, with sources telling CNN he has lived in Florida, in addition to stints in Ohio and New Jersey, where he worked as an Uber driver for the last six months, according to the company.
On Tuesday, according to police, the 29-year-old drove a rented pickup truck down a busy bicycle path near the World Trade Center in Manhattan, killing eight people and injuring almost a dozen others.
After crashing into a school bus, he allegedly left the vehicle brandishing a pellet gun and paintball gun. He was shot by a police officer, and rushed to the hospital where he underwent surgery.
New Jersey resident
Saipov was married on March 25, 2013 to another Uzbek, Nozima Odilova, when he was 25 and she was 19 in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, sources said. Neither had been married before.
Law enforcement sources told CNN Saipov most recently lived in New Jersey, where the truck used in Tuesday’s attack was rented. Neighbors in Paterson, a city of 140,000 northwest of New York City, said he lived there recently.
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In Ohio, Saipov registered two companies, Sayf Motors Inc in 2011 and Bright Auto LLC in 2013, which was listed as a “motor carrier” in a Department of Transport database.
According to Uber, it has reviewed Saipov’s history with the company and has not identified any rider complaints about his safety as a driver. He passed the company’s background check, though he has now been removed from the app, it said.
Saipov received multiple traffic citations, including for an incident in Missouri in 2015, when he was charged for failing to maintain his vehicle’s brake system.
Police interviewed Saipov before he went into surgery Tuesday, but have not disclosed details from that conversation.
He appears to have been inspired by ISIS propaganda, though direct links to the group have not been described. ISIS has also not made any claim of responsibility for the attack.
Police said a note written in English found in the truck used for the attack said it was done in the name of ISIS.
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