A federal grand jury charged the Uzbek terrorist allegedly responsible for the Halloween attack in Manhattan that killed eight people and injured 12 others with 22 criminal counts, including murder in aid of Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL)-linked racketeering activity, according to the U.S Department of Justice (DOJ).
On October 31, Uzbek native Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov, 29, of Paterson, New Jersey, allegedly used a rented truck as a weapon of terror on behalf of ISIS, driving the vehicle onto the bike lane and pedestrian walkway on on Manhattan’s West Side.
He plowed his truck down the walkway for several blocks, striking many civilians until he crashed into a school bus carrying passengers, at which point his vehicle came to a screeching halt.
Soon after getting out of his car, he allegedly yelled, “Allahu Akbar,” which is an Arabic jihadi battle cry that translates to “Allah is the greatest.”
The indictment states:
The defendant, for the purpose of gaining entrance to ISIS, an enterprise engaged in racketeering activity … intentionally and knowingly murdered eight victims … and under circumstances evincing a depraved indifference to human life, did recklessly engage in conduct which created a grave risk … thereby [causing] the death of the victims.
Law enforcement shot the Uzbek jihadist before he was taken into custody. Authorities reportedly recovered a paintball gun, a pellet gun, a stun gun, three knives, and ISIS-affiliated documents, among other things from the vicinity of his truck.
In a press release, DOJ notes:
The Indictment charges Saipov with eight counts of murder in aid of racketeering, twelve counts of attempted murder in aid of racketeering, one count of providing and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and one count of violence and destruction of a motor vehicle resulting in death.
He is facing a maximum sentence of life imprisonment or death on multiple counts.
“As alleged in this indictment, Sayfullo Saipov murdered eight innocent people and injured many more in a calculated act of terrorism in the heart of one of our great cities,” declared U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
“Consumed by hate and a twisted ideology, Sayfullo Saipov allegedly barreled down a pedestrian walkway and bicycle path on a sunny afternoon on the West Side of Manhattan, killing eight innocent people and injuring at least a dozen others,” added Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim for the Southern District of New York.
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