PATERSON, New Jersey—Sayfullo Saipov was seen several times in the past month in a rented Home Depot truck like the one he used to kill eight people in a terrorist attack, according to his neighbor.
Carlos Batista, 23, told The Daily Beast that he had seen a Home Depot truck parked on his street several times in the last three weeks. Batista said he saw the truck as recently as four days ago when Saipov waved at him from it. “He said hi and bye, and we never had a problem....” Batista said.
NYPD Deputy Commissioner John Miller said at a Tuesday press conference that Saipov had been “planning this for a number of weeks.” Miller said Saipov was not the subject of any investigation prior to the attack.
Saipov allegedly drove the truck through a bike path along the Hudson River in Lower Manhattan, killing eight people and injuring at least a dozen others. He eventually crashed into a school bus and exited the vehicle brandishing what police identified as several imitation firearms. Saipov was shot and taken into custody.
