1 Dead, 8 Hurt in U-Haul Driver's 'Violent Rampage' in NYC

No sign of 'terrorism involvement,' police say
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 13, 2023 1:13 PM CST
Updated Feb 14, 2023 12:22 AM CST
UPDATE Feb 14, 2023 12:22 AM CST

One of the victims injured in Monday's U-Haul truck "rampage" through Brooklyn has died. Eight others were injured when, according to police, suspect Weng Sor, 62, drove through the New York City borough's Bay Ridge neighborhood for 48 minutes before police managed to stop him more than three miles from where the pursuit began, the AP reports. The man who was killed was struck about 30 minutes after the first victim was hit, and the 44-year-old suffered a fatal head injury. The others injured were all men ages 30 to 66, one of them a police officer. The suspect's son says he has a history of violence.

Feb 13, 2023 1:13 PM CST

A man driving a U-Haul truck struck and injured several pedestrians in New York City on Monday before police were able to pin the careening vehicle against a building following a mileslong pursuit through Brooklyn. Eyewitnesses said they saw pedestrians and e-bike riders sprawled on the ground after the truck drove through. At least eight people were hurt, including two people who were in critical condition, Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said. Sewell described the driver's actions as a "violent rampage through Brooklyn" but said there was no evidence of "terrorism involvement," the AP reports.

The truck sped through the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn, hitting people on a sidewalk at one point, before police stopped it more than 3 miles away from the entrance to a tunnel leading from Brooklyn to Manhattan, the AP reports. Aerial video from news helicopters showed the truck on a sidewalk, its path blocked by a police cruiser. Authorities were examining the truck to make sure it didn't contain explosives. A spokesperson for New York City Mayor Eric Adams said a suspect is in custody. "There are no additional credible threats at this time," Fabien Levy tweeted.

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Law enforcement sources identified the driver to NBC New York as Weng Sor, a 62-year-old man with no criminal record. "We have no idea of motives at this time but this wasn't an accident," tweeted Councilman Justin Brannan, who represents a Brooklyn district. He added: "While this driver was clearly running people down intentionally, there is no intel saying this was any kind of coordinated terrorist attack." 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 rented truck.

(More New York City stories.)

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