this is bbc news. i'm rebecca jones. the headlines at 11:00: terror in new york — at least eight people are killed and dozens injured after a truck ploughs into pedestrians and cyclists. this was an act of terror and particularly cowardly act of terror aimed at innocent civilians. there were about another ten gunshots coming out, i saw police ducking out. they came out towards where i was, they didn't know what was going on. president trump describes the suspect as a ‘sick and deranged' person while theresa may says she's appalled by the attack. the driver, who's in police custody, has been named in the us as sayfullo saipov, who came to the country in 2010. good evening and

welcome to bbc news. at least eight people have been killed in an attack in new york in which a rented pick—up truck was driven across a pedestrian and bicycle lane. police said the vehicle hit several people in lower manhattan before it crashed into a school bus and the driver was shot and detained by police. american media has named him as sayfullo saipov, who came to the us in 2010. president trump has tweeted and called it "another attack by a very sick and deranged person". let's speak to our north america editorjon sopel. you talk about the president making

that tweet. it was interesting that the white house was cautious about how it should refer to the attack. the president, not using the phrase radical islamic terror that he has in previous occasions when barack 0bama was president or in response to european attacks. the first tweet, "looks like another attack by a deranged person, law enforcement is following this closely," followed by another one saying that "we should not allow isis to return." in the past few moments: the president has set out kind of his concern and this is, of course, the first terrorist attacks since donald trump became president and

also the first terrorist attack in new york where someone has died since september 11. what happens next from donald trump, do you think? i don't know. i am sure he is being briefed by the fbi and national security people around him to try to find out as much information about this individual as possible. it was interesting that the mayor of new york, bill deblasio, who described it as a lone wolf. there are some who believe there is no such thing as a lone wolf attack, that you must have contacts, that there are footprints in the sand which will lead to other people. i would in the sand which will lead to other people. iwould imagine in the sand which will lead to other people. i would imagine there will be intense activity to try to find out more about this person, whether he was acting in concert with anyone, whether he had had training and the potential, of course, if you

are an american national security person, what the potential is for further attacks like this but it follows a pattern we have seen in europe, in paris, in london, in nice in berlin, where someone has gotten behind a carand in berlin, where someone has gotten behind a car and found it is easy to cause carnage. the softest of targets. 0ur correspondent nick bryant has the latest. a riverside bike path in lower manhattan, where cyclists were mown down by a vehicle that appears to have deliberately mounted the curb. eyewitnesses described the white pick—up truck being driven at high speed. the path was scattered with damaged bikes and injured riders. moments afterwards, the truck appears to have rammed another vehicle, outside one of new york's most prestigious schools, and this footage appears to show this suspect leaving the vehicle and brandishing what police later said was an imitation firearm. pupils at the school told us help gunfire then erupted.

police came out and people called the cops, so they were coming in. the guy fired a couple of shots before and then there was a shoot out between the police and the guy and that's when they started to close down everything and we had to go. he was screaming in the street, looked frustrated, panicked, confused. from there a whole bunch of customers started running past me, a whole bunch of people came running past my way shouting "he has a gun!" police cleared some of manhattan's busiest streets and on the police scanner, the panic of the moment. radio: be advised, multiple people on the ground. all the way from houston. multiple people on the ground. we need buses from

houston to chambers. all this and folded within the shadow of the new world trade center, when new yorkers are reminded daily of the ever present threat of terror. this is one of the most heavily policed areas in the whole of the united states, just yards from ground zero. and the emergency services were here in heavy numbers, almost immediately. and it didn't take them long to confirm that new york city had again been the target of terror. it's a very painful day in our city, horrible tragedy on the west side. let me be clear that based on information we have at this moment, this was an act of terror and a particularly cowardly act of terror, aimed at innocent civilians, aimed at people going about their lives who had no idea what was about to hit them. once again, new york has been attacked on a beautiful autumn day, and just yards from one of its most sacred and one of its most fortified sites.

at a news conference earlier this evening, the city's police and mayor praised the resilience of new yorkers in the face of another attack. first, i want to say that today there is a loss of innocent life in lower manhattan. people going about their day, heading home from work or school or enjoying the afternoon sun. this is a tragedy of the greatest magnitude. for many people from new york city and beyond today. i want to commend the nypd 0fficer response he was on post near the location who stopped the carnage moments after it began and the work of the first responders including fire and ems surely helped save additional lives. i will give more ofa additional lives. i will give more of a chronology but i would like to introduce mayor deblasio. thank you, commissioner. a painful day in our

city. horrible tragedy on the west side. based on information we have at the moment, this was an of terror. a particularly cowardly act of terror. aimed at innocent civilians. aimed at people going about their lives who had no idea what was about to hit them. we, at this moment, based on the information we have, we know of eight innocent people who have lost their lives. 0ver eight innocent people who have lost their lives. over a dozen more are injured. we know that this action was intended to break our spirit. but we also know new yorkers are strong, new yorkers are resilient and our spirit will never be moved by an act of violence and an act meant to intimidate us. we have been tested before as a city very near the site of today's tragedy and new

yorkers do not give in in the face of these kinds of actions. we will respond as we always do. we will be undeterred. and i want to thank everyone at the nypd, all our first responders, for their extraordinary efforts in the midst of this tragedy, starting with the officer who stopped this tragedy from continuing. all of the first responders who came to the aid of those who were injured. an investigation is under way to get all the facts and what we will tell you today of course will be preliminary. but we know that we will get down to the bottom of what happened. i want to ask all new yorkers, all americans, to keep the families of those lost in your thoughts and prayers. they will need our support, and

thoughts and prayers. they will need oursupport, andl thoughts and prayers. they will need our support, and i want to ask all new yorkers to be vigilant. we know it's halloween night. we know in the days ahead, people will be uneasy. we ask all new yorkers delivered by the idea of, if you see something, say something, tell an officer immediately. it is anything unusual or something that worries you. be vigilant and know that there will be extensive additional employment of nypd officers through the evening and throughout the days ahead. let us go straight to the scene. what can you tell us, michelle fleury? you mentioned the streets we re fleury? you mentioned the streets were busy. since i've been standing here, there were groups of students kept out of safety —— kept safe, beyond school hours and it's only

now that they have been let out in groups. some have been told what has happened, others haven't. this all took place several hours ago. at the end of the school day, a time when many would be expected to be travelling on the bike path are next two, a thoroughfare which can do —— which connects a residential and office area. there were schools near here. this was a busy area. we heard it is halloween. we still don't know why this date in this location was chosen but perhaps the holiday may have had something to do with it. details are emerging about the suspect who is alive and detained in custody. what can you tell us about him? we learnt it was a 29 new man. we understand his name is sayfullo

saipov. —— 29—year—old man. he had a florida driver ‘s licence. we have not confirmed his nationality or what is motive might have been. that is something that we are focusing on, understanding what drove him. there are questions about, at the time, when he left the vehicle, there was talk that he was shouting something out and that he was carrying firearms. we know those turned out to be a pellet gun and a paintball gun. again, these other sorts of things that law enforcement be focusing on, to try to paint a fuller picture of who this individual was and why they carried out this atrocity. it is halloween, traditionally, there is a big parade in new york. how are locals responding to this attack? than they said that they have been tested before. —— the mail. —— the mayor.

new yorkers like to think of themselves as top individuals and that will be on display throughout the city tonight. unfortunately, this is becoming a pattern we are seeing around the world and one which sadly is becoming something that people not just which sadly is becoming something that people notjust here but new york are becoming all too familiar with. and there has been reaction from downing street. prime minister theresa may says: the french president has also been tweeting. he has said: an eyewitness has

described the incident. it's 3pm in the afternoon and i hear the noise and i go back and look and i see the noise and i go back and look and iseea the noise and i go back and look and i see a truck a few blocks down going down the bike path and for some reason i went that way and when i went that way i saw a couple of bodies laying right there on the bike path. when i was looking to see if there was anyone else i've heard gunshots. around nine or ten gunshots. around nine or ten gunshots were going off, a lot of police came running towards where i was. they didn't know what was going on, they were confused as much as everybody else was. two gentlemen running over by the pickup truck. and the noise you heard was the truck.. ?

and the noise you heard was the truck. . ? a lot and the noise you heard was the truck.. ? a lot of females screening, it was halloween but it was an eerie scream. there was one female who must have seen the body and must have seen it happened, she kept screaming. it was... these college students were in class as the commotion began. we were having a class and a couple of my classmates heard the shots and then we went to the window and we saw two of the bodies laying down. first we saw one in the bike lane and a second body was next to the tree. we saw a bunch of police and ambulance people, they were running. after that they covered the body but it was windy so the guy huddled up. of it was windy so the guy huddled up. 0f bunch of bicycles were on the floor. it was really chaotic.