8 killed and at least 11 injured by motorist near World Trade Center

New York City Police Officers respond to report of gunfire along West Street near the pedestrian bridge at Stuyvesant High School in lower Manhattan in New York, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017. (Martin Speechley/NYPD via AP)

Chaos in Manhattan this afternoon after police say a man driving a rented van mowed down cyclists and pedestrians along a bike path near the World Trade Center memorial.

A law enforcement official says at least eight people were killed and at least eleven injured.

The driver of the van is said to have emerged from the vehicle waving what turned out to be two fake guns and screaming “allahu akbar,” which means God is great in Arabic. 

Police say the vehicle, a rented Home Depot truck, entered the bike path a few blocks from the World Trade Center memorial and struck at least 15 people, leaving mangled bicycles behind.

Police say the 29-year-old man was shot by officers and is in custody, and the official says the incident is being investigated as a possible case of terrorism.