Manhattan Terror Suspect ‘Liked the US’, Violated Traffic Rules

This undated photo of Sayfullo Saipov was provided by St Charles County Department of Corrections via KMOV.

(Photo: AP)

The man accused of killing eight people by racing a pickup truck down a New York City bike path on Tuesday may have worked as a driver and lived in New Jersey after emigrating from Uzbekistan seven years ago, according to authorities and media reports.

Few other details about the 29-year-old suspect have emerged since the Tuesday afternoon vehicle rampage in lower Manhattan, blocks from the site of the 9/11, attacks that destroyed the landmark World Trade Center Twin Towers.

Saipov, born in February 1988, moved to the United States seven years ago from Uzbekistan, a Central Asian country that was once part of the Soviet Union. He appears to have lived in Ohio, Florida and New Jersey since then.

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‘He Likes The US’

An Uzbek immigrant who met Saipov in Florida several years ago told the Times that Saipov worked as a truck driver there but began driving for Uber when he moved to New Jersey.

Kobiljon Matkarov told the Times:

He was a very good person when I knew him. He liked the US. He seemed very lucky and all the time he was happy and talking like everything is okay. He did not seem like a terrorist, but I did not know him from the inside.

The Times, citing sources, reported that Saipov had been living in Paterson, New Jersey, about 25 miles (40 km) northwest of the scene of the attack. He rented the truck used in the attack from a Home Depot in nearby Passaic, just south of Paterson, it said.

Had Traffic Violations

Police cordoned off an area of Paterson, a one-time industrial hub known for its large immigrant population, early Wednesday morning. About 25,000 to 30,000 Muslims live in the city, giving it one of the highest concentrations of Muslim people in the New York City area.

Saipov has a history of traffic violations, according to media reports and court records.

In one incident, he was pulled over in central Pennsylvania for pulling a truck trailer that was longer than permitted by law and "operating unsafe equipment", as well as driving with the wrong operators license, state judicial records show.

Saipov listed both Paterson and Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, as his addresses. He paid his fine by mail and did not have to appear in court.