Police detained the driver of a U-Haul after he struck multiple pedestrians in Brooklyn on Monday in what NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell called a "violent rampage."
According to police, officers responded at 10:50 a.m. to the U-Haul truck driver in the Bay Ridge area after the vehicle struck multiple people.
Sewell said people were struck at seven different locations across the Bay Ridge area. She said police were processing each scene — which stretches over several miles — as the investigation continues.
The truck was ultimately stopped at the entrance to the Battery Tunnel at Hamilton Avenue and Columbia Street, where he was taken into custody.
Eight people were injured, police said. Six people were taken to NYU Langone Hospital — Brooklyn, two of whom were critically injured, one seriously injured, and three have minor injuries.
One person was transferred to Maimonides Medical Center in serious condition, and another with minor injuries.
An NYPD officer who responded to the mayhem was one of those injured, Sewell said.
She added that there is currently "no indication" that there is "any terrorism involvement in this incident."
Councilman Justin Brannan, who represents Bay Ridge, called the incident a "rampage," and he told 1010 WINS the driver may have been suicidal.
“It sounds like this guy driving a U-Haul tore through Bay Ridge, from the top of Bay Ridge all the way into Sunset Park, just hitting everything in his way,” Brannan said. “And when police approached his U-Haul and tried to get him to pull over, he said something to the effect of, 'I want to die,’ and started driving on the sidewalk through Bay Ridge.”
"It seemed random but also completely on purpose," the councilman added. "It wasn’t like he had some medical episode. He knew what he was doing here."
Fabien Levy, a spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams, tweeted that Adams "has been briefed" on the incident and that there are "no additional credible threats at this time."
Gov. Kathy Hochul tweeted that she, too, has been briefed and that her "team is coordinating" with the NYPD and the New York State Police, and that they are "ready to provide any assistance needed as the investigation continues."
The incident coincided with the start of the death penalty phase in the trial of Sayfullo Saipov, an Islamic extremist who killed eight people in 2017 by mowing them down with a truck.
With the investigation just getting started, Sewell said police are "looking at" any potential motive, including any correlation with the high-profile bike path attack case.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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