Fast-acting young cop emerges as hero after downing NYC terrorist
- New York City suffered its worst terror attack since 9/11 on Tuesday with eight dead and 11 injured after a man in a rented truck drove onto a bike path.
- A fast-acting New York Police Department officer, Ryan Nash, while on an unrelated call shot and downed the suspect in the attack, bringing the deadly episode to a close.
- The suspect is in custody and Nash is being praised as a hero.
Around 3:05 p.m., Saipov mounted a curb in a rented pickup truck and tore down several blocks of a popular bike path on Manhattan's west side, killing eight and wounding 11 others.
Saipov's run ended as he crashed into a bus, disabling his vehicle. Saipov exited the truck with two imitation firearms and shouted "Allahu Akbar," Arabic for "God is great."
NYPD officer Ryan Nash, who was out on a unrelated routine call trying to locate an emotionally disturbed person, then spotted the unfolding chaos, according to the New York Post.
Nash "confronted the subject and shot him in the abdomen," Police Commissioner James P. O'Neill said during a press conference following the attack.
"I want to commend the response of our NYPD officer that was on post near the location who stopped the carnage moments after it began," said O'Neill.
Nash, a 28-year-old resident of Medford, Long Island, was treated for ringing in his ears at Bellevue Hospital following the episode, according to the Post. He joined the NYPD in 2012, according to CNN.
"Our hats off 2 Officer Ryan Nash & @NYPD1Pct who were 1st on scene, didnt waiver, apprehended the suspct, & saved lives. God bless the #NYPD" tweeted NYC Councilman Joe Borelli.