The terrorist attack in New York in Manhattan was carried out by a native of Uzbekistan (video). The terrorist attack in New York will lead to tougher immigration laws in the United States. Terrorist attack in America on October 1.
In 2017, America was rocked by several high-profile terrorist attacks, which led to multiple political changes in the country's legislation.
Shooting at Fort Lauderdale Airport, Florida.
This year was not going well at the very beginning. On January 6, an incident occurred at Fort Lauderdale International Airport that killed 5 people, injured six, and injured 37 as a result of the ensuing panic. In the baggage claim area at the airport, a passenger on a Canadian flight, 26-year-old Alaska resident Esteban Santiago-Ruiz, took a weapon from his suitcase and went to the toilet to load it. Then he returned and opened fire on those around him. Previously, Esteban Santiago-Ruiz served in Iraq and was a participant in combat operations, after which his relatives noticed some oddities in his behavior.
In 2016, Santiago contacted the FBI office in Anchorage with a statement that American intelligence services were trying to control him, and that the authorities were forcing him to watch videos of the terrorist organization “Islamic State” and join its ranks. A forced medical examination did not recognize Santiago as sick.
Shooting in Las Vegas
October 1 this year at the Mandala Bay hotel and entertainment complex on the Las Vegas Strip. The incident happened during a country music concert by Rote 91, which took place in an outdoor area. Stephen Paddock, who committed the horrific massacre, carried a large arsenal of firearms into the hotel room.
Paddock's room overlooked the concert venue, and when country singer Jason Aldean took the stage, Paddock opened fire on the crowd of spectators. The shooter stopped shooting when he discovered hotel security approaching his door. One security representative, Stephen Paddock, was wounded in the leg and then committed suicide with a shot in the head. 58 people were killed and more than 500 were injured.
It is impossible to say for sure whether the shooting in Las Vegas was a planned terrorist attack, or whether the reasons were Paddock's gambling debts, anti-Republican sentiments and mental illness. On October 2, Islamic State terrorists said Paddock was their “soldier” and converted to Islam “many months ago.” However, the statement does not provide any further concrete evidence that Paddock was associated with terrorists.
Terrorist attack in New York
On October 31, a 29-year-old native of Uzbekistan, Saifullo Saipov, who came to America with a green card, rented a pickup truck, Saipov drove onto a bicycle path and deliberately began to hit cyclists and pedestrians. After which Saipov drove a pickup truck into a school bus.
The tragedy killed 8 people, 13 people were seriously injured. The behavior of Sayfullo Saipov and the note found in his car leave no doubt that this act was pre-planned by a terrorist group.
Texas church shooting
On November 5, there was a lone shooter in the Texas community of Sutherland Springs. 26-year-old Devin Patrick Kelly burst into the church in the middle of the service and began shooting at parishioners with a Ruger SP 556 carbine. Local resident Stephen Williford, armed with a rifle, decided to confront the guy. Kelly was wounded and attempted to flee in his vehicle, but Williford gave chase.
In Guadalupe County, the killer's car drove off the highway, the driver was found dead behind the wheel - Kelly committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. Those who knew Kelly personally claim that he was aggressive towards fans of religion and that he himself held atheistic views. Devin Patrick Kelly was previously convicted of beating his wife and child.
Kelly purchased the weapon, which was used to kill 26 people and injure 20 others in a Texas church, illegally by giving a false address and lying about having a criminal record. Nearly half of those killed in the Texas shooting were minors.
Manhattan explosion
December 11 at Manhattan's Port Authority Bus Terminal, which local police regard as a terrorist attack. Homemade explosives detonated under the station building itself. The detainee was 27-year-old Akayed Ullah. He had an explosive device and batteries with him.
At the moment, the suspect has been taken into custody and is in the hospital, as Ullah was injured due to the premature explosion. As a result of the terrorist attack, 4 people were injured, but there were no deaths.
The truck entered a bike path in southwest Manhattan. The driver drove down several streets, hitting cyclists along the way, before crashing into a school bus. The motorist, armed with a paintball gun, went out onto the street. The police who arrived at the scene wounded the attacker and he was hospitalized. As a result of the truck collision, eight people were killed and more than 10 were injured. New York Mayor Bill De Blasio called the incident a terrorist attack.
In Las Vegas, a man opened fire at one of the city's largest casinos, Mandalay Bay. He fired from the balcony of the Mandalay Bay Hotel, targeting visitors to a country music festival taking place nearby. As a result of the shooting, 58 people were injured and more than 500 were injured. The suspect committed suicide.
The shooting happened at the baggage claim counter at the Fort Lauderdale airport. A Hispanic man named Esteban Santiago opened fire. He was detained. As a result of the incident, five people were killed and eight were injured. Later it became known about another 37 victims.
There was an explosion in New York. For the incident, the perpetrators chose the Chelsea area, where there are many restaurants, bars, gay clubs and shops, and where at such times it is always crowded. The explosion occurred in the western part of the city - on 23rd Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. The number of victims was 29, of which one person was seriously injured. The New York City Fire Department said an explosive device went off in Manhattan. Police found a second possible explosive device near the scene - on 27th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues - which was removed by bomb squads. A few hours before the explosion in New York, an explosion occurred at a mass race track in New Jersey. There were no casualties.
On the night of a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, an unknown person opened fire on visitors to the establishment, after which he took hostages. According to eyewitnesses, there were about 100 visitors in the club at the time. In the process, 49 people were killed and 53 were injured. The attacker, US citizen Omar Mateen, was killed by police during an assault after a three-hour standoff. During the course, he called the emergency number 911 and stated that he was acting on behalf of the Islamic State terrorist group, which is banned in the United States, as well as in Russia.
In the Californian city of San Bernardino in the United States, attackers started shooting at the Inland regional center serving people with mental disorders. They were Syed Rizwan Farooq and his wife Tashfeen Malik, who used two machine guns and two pistols to kill 14 people and wound 21. Both were reported to police hours after they fled the scene.
In the American city of Charleston (South Carolina), a 21-year-old armed white man shot and killed nine African-Americans who came to church for a Bible study. Police believe the crime was motivated by racial hatred.
A series of explosions occurred in the northern part of Boston, near the finish line of the famous Boston Marathon at the moment when the main group of athletes was completing the race. As a result of the tragedy, three people died. amounted to 176 people. The brothers were found guilty of organizing the terrorist attack. Dzhokhar was detained on April 20. Tamerlan died on April 19 from wounds received in a shootout with the police. On March 10, 2015, hearings in the Tsarnaev case began in a Boston court. More than 90 witnesses from the prosecution spoke, and the defense invited four people. On April 6, the debate between the parties ended.
A jury has convicted Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on all 30 counts of plotting the Boston Marathon bombing.
Three of Tsarnaev’s student friends were also prosecuted in the Boston terrorist attack case—Kazakh citizens Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbaev, as well as American Robel Phillipos. At the beginning of June 2015, students from Kazakhstan Dias Kadyrbaev and Azamat Tazhayakov were sentenced to six and 3.5 years, respectively. The trial also found Robert Phillipos guilty of lying to investigators after recognizing the terrorist suspect as his friend. He was sentenced to three years in prison. Another friend of Tsarnaev, Khairullozhon Matanov, 2.5 years in prison for concealing information from investigators.
On August 17, there was a terrorist attack in Barcelona. The van drove into a crowd of tourists in the Rambla pedestrian street, after which the terrorists started a shootout in the market. According to official data, 14 people were killed and 130 were injured.
Immediately after the attack, two suspects were detained. The driver of the car that ran over people on La Rambla fled.
The second attack took place on August 18 in the port of Cambrils, located near Barcelona. The attackers knocked down pedestrians and then started shooting with the police.
As a result, seven people were injured, including one policeman. Four attackers were killed on the spot. One was injured and was detained, but died from his injuries.
As it turned out, the attackers involved in two terrorist attacks in Catalonia were planning another attack. The police uncovered a group of eight people. The group members planned to explode gas cylinders.
The terrorist group ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.
On August 18, a massacre occurred in the Finnish city of Turku, during which two people died and eight were injured of varying degrees of severity.
At about 16:00 local time, an 18-year-old Moroccan citizen committed a massacre in the central Trade Square, during which about ten people were injured.
During the police operation to arrest the attacker, the man was shot in the leg and taken to the University Hospital of Turku. On August 23, the suspect was transferred to the prison hospital in Hämeenlinna. After undergoing treatment, he was transferred to Turku Prison, where he will remain in custody until charges are brought (approx. until February 28, 2018).
The Fiat Ducato car, which was put on the wanted list, was found on the same day in the evening, after which the police searched the house of the car owner and also searched the refugee reception center in Pansio. One of the suspects has been put on the international wanted list.
The media noted that this terrorist attack is Finland's first encounter with an attack by Islamic extremists.
On October 14, 2017, two car bombs exploded in the Somali capital Mogadishu. The explosion killed 358 people, and several hundred more people were seriously injured.
First, a truck with explosives flew into the air. It exploded in front of the capital's Safari Hotel, which is located in the Khodansky district. The building was completely destroyed.
A second attack occurred on the same day: another bomb exploded in the government district of Madina. Two people died. Somali authorities blamed the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab radical group, which is waging an armed struggle against the central government and has carried out dozens of terrorist attacks in the country, for organizing the explosions. But no group claims responsibility for the attacks.
The terrorist attack was the largest in the last ten years in Africa.
On October 31, 2017, around 3:05 p.m. local time, a terrorist attack occurred in New York. A 29-year-old native of Uzbekistan, Saifullo Saipov, drove a pickup truck at high speed onto a bike path in Lower Manhattan and began to crush people.
The tape, citing MSNBC, reports that the terrorist attack killed eight people and injured 15 more. A car driver drove his vehicle toward people in a bike path, crashed into a school bus, and then opened fire on people.
The collision took place near the One World Trade Center skyscraper. It was built near the site of the Twin Towers, destroyed as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Eyewitnesses of the incident claim that during the shooting the man shouted “Allahu Akbar!” The suspect was wounded by police, detained and is in hospital.
Saifulla Khabibullaevich Saipov immigrated to the United States in 2010 from Tashkent. According to social networks, before coming to the United States, he lived in Osh in Kyrgyzstan and Vologda. He came to America by winning the green card lottery.
For the last few months before the terrorist attack, Saipov lived in Paterson, New Jersey, and worked as a driver for Uber. The company said that there had never been any complaints against him.
In the United States, Saipov was never prosecuted and had only four fines for violating traffic rules.
In 2015, Saipov was questioned by Department of Homeland Security agents because he was found to be involved with two people under counterterrorism surveillance.
In southeast Texas in the United States, a mass shooting occurred at a Baptist church, ABC News reports, citing law enforcement sources. At least 26 people were killed. The same number were injured.
At First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, a gunman entered the church during Sunday service and began shooting at parishioners. He tried to escape in a car and was shot by police. According to Reuters, children were among those killed.
According to an eyewitness - a woman who works at a gas station - shots were heard for at least 15 seconds.
US President Donald Trump said he is considering abolishing the green card lottery for foreigners wishing to obtain US residency. It was under this program, which is carried out in the countries of the former USSR, that a native of Uzbekistan, Saifullo Saipov, came to America. On Tuesday, October 31, Saipov hit pedestrians on a New York street. As a result of the terrorist attack, which Saipov was inspired by Islamist propaganda, eight people were killed and 12 were injured. US President Donald Trump publicly demanded the death penalty for the terrorist.
According to statistics from the US Department of Homeland Security, Uzbekistan is the leading republic of former Soviet Central Asia in terms of the number of migrants to America. From 2006 to 2015, more than 37,000 people entered the United States from this country. For comparison, about 13,000 immigrants moved to the United States from slightly more prosperous Kazakhstan over the same period of time. Visitors from Central Asian countries such as Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are estimated at several hundred each year. The number of arrivals from Uzbekistan for permanent residence reached its peak in 2008, when more than 6,000 people left the country for the United States.
The fact that Uzbekistan holds the record for the number of immigrants in America is explained by the fact that the population of Uzbekistan is the largest in Central Asia, political scientist Alexey Pilko, director of the Eurasian Communication Center, explained to Gazeta.Ru.
The figures given for legal immigration to the United States refer to the administration of Barack Obama. Similar statistics by country for the period of the beginning of President Donald Trump’s reign are not yet available on the department’s website.
At the same time, according to other statistics from the same Department of Homeland Security, the total number of citizens arriving in the United States as refugees has decreased markedly under the new administration. If in the first quarter of this year only about 25,000 refugees arrived in the United States, then in the second - already 13,000, and in the third - 10,000 people.
Trump may use the situation with the citizen of Uzbekistan who committed the terrorist attack to further tighten the entry policy into the United States, notes The New York Times. The president's main criticism was directed at Democratic politicians, who, in his opinion, are to blame for the weakness of immigration laws.
According to Pilko from the Eurasian Communication Center, Trump will undoubtedly use the situation with the Uzbek citizen “to put pressure on political opponents within the United States”:
“His idea may be that while Russia is considered the enemy, the real enemy is international terrorism.”
Trump has already promised tougher penalties for terrorism following the October 31 attack. “What we have now is nonsense, it’s ridiculous,” Trump said. He noted that US authorities need to develop a punishment “much faster and stronger” than what is currently in place.
American media note that the terrorist attack in New York is the first to occur in the United States under Trump's presidency, and the president wants to use it to promote his rhetoric of increased security.
Uzbekistan and the countries of Central Asia may become victims of this approach. Washington has long viewed Tashkent as its main ally in the region. This was due to the fact that the late president of this country, Islam Karimov, pursued a policy relatively independent from Moscow. Uzbekistan was not part of the CSTO military bloc and noticeably distanced itself from Moscow.
After the death of Karimov and the coming to power of the country’s new president, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Uzbekistan is actively establishing a dialogue with Moscow. As for the United States, according to Pilko, “America’s romance with Uzbekistan is over.” “Uzbekistan and the region ceased to interest the United States after minimizing relations with Afghanistan,” explains the expert.
However, given Trump’s new strategy in Afghanistan, this romance may flare up with renewed vigor.
The situation with the growth of terrorist sentiments in Uzbekistan drew attention to the liberal magazine The Atlantic, which a day after the terrorist attack published an article entitled “Why does Uzbekistan export so many terrorists?”
“...The draconian measures of the Karimov regime did not solve the problem of Islamic extremism in Uzbekistan. They only drove the problem underground and, ultimately, pushed it abroad,” the magazine claims.
According to Gulf State Analytics expert Theodore Karasik, if the Trump administration begins to regulate immigration from Central Asian countries, it will “play into Moscow’s hands.” Russia will use the cold snap to draw Uzbekistan into its sphere of influence. “This is not very good for American geopolitical interests in Central Asia,” the expert states.
It is worth noting that on November 2, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev visited Uzbekistan. He held a meeting with the country's President Mirziyoyev, and also signed a number of documents, including those regulating the work of Uzbek migrants in Russia.
The enemy of migrants
However, for Trump, the main priority is still the anti-migration agenda, which has become one of the main ones for his administration. Experts and the media note that Trump, unlike his predecessor Obama, shows quite high intolerance towards people coming from non-European countries. And the US President himself does not hide this. He built his election campaign on criticism of illegal migration from Mexico and promised to build a wall on the border with this country.
Once in power, he restricted entry into the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries. The restrictions included such states as Syria, Libya, Chad, Somalia, Yemen, and Iran. As noted by the American media, relatively prosperous Iran was included in these countries solely for political reasons.
In September, Trump also ended the DACA program (the Deferred Action for Migrant Children program). According to it, children of illegal immigrants brought by their parents to the United States can remain in the country and not be subject to deportation.
Leading American Democratic politicians urged not to stop the program so as not to deprive the future of “Dreamers” - as DACA beneficiaries are called. In particular, former US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta asked Trump to abandon plans to curtail the program in his article for The Washington Post. However, the American leader did not listen to these arguments.
American authorities have identified a suspect in the terrorist attack in New York in Manhattan on October 31, 2017, which killed at least eight people, CNN reports. According to available information, this attack was carried out by 29-year-old Saifullo Saipov, who came to the United States from Uzbekistan in 2010.
The suspect in New York's deadliest terrorist attack since 9/11 is believed to have left a note claiming it was all done on behalf of ISIS. The man drove a truck down a busy bike path in Lower Manhattan on October 31, killing at least eight people. Five of the victims are Argentinians, one is Belgian.
The truck driver then crashed into a school bus near the World Trade Center. Witnesses state that the suspect shouted “Allahu Akbar!”, that is, “God is great!” Authorities identified him as 29-year-old Saifulla Saipov. He came to the United States from Uzbekistan in 2010. Investigators currently believe he acted alone.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called on the community for unity and resilience.
ANDREW CUOMO, Governor of New York: New York is an international symbol of freedom and democracy. That's what we are. And we are proud of it. This also makes us a target for people who oppose these ideas.
Terrorist attack in New York in Manhattan on October 31 victims
On Tuesday, October 31, 2017, a terrorist attack occurred in New York. Eight people were killed and at least 15 were injured. This is the first terrorist attack in New York City in 16 years since September 11, 2001, and the first successful terrorist attack using a truck in US history.
The collision occurred at 15:15 US East Coast time (22:15 Moscow time) in Lower Manhattan. A car driven by a young man drove into the crowd onto a bicycle path. The driver drove along several streets for 7 blocks, knocking down cyclists along the way.
Some time later, he collided with a school bus and stopped.
After the car stopped, a man ran out of it with two pistols (pneumatic and paintball?) in his hands. The police opened fire on him and wounded him in the stomach.
After this, the attacker was detained. An air gun and a paintball pistol were seized from him.
The attacker is now under guard in the hospital. He underwent surgery and his life is not in danger.
As a result of the terrorist attack, 6 people died on the spot, two died in hospitals from their injuries. Among the dead are citizens of Argentina and Belgium.
The five Argentine nationals who died were celebrating the 30th anniversary of their graduation from school, the Argentine Foreign Ministry said. Nearby is a school where students were preparing for Halloween.
Another 11 people remain in hospitals in serious condition.
Local authorities almost immediately classified the crime as a terrorist attack. US President Donald Trump also called the tragedy a terrorist attack on Twitter.
According to police, the offender is 29 years old. According to information provided by American media, the name of the alleged criminal is Saifullo Khabibulaevich Saipov, he is a citizen of Uzbekistan, and lives in the United States with a residence permit, having arrived in the United States in 2010 with a green card (according to some sources, now expired).
The attacker left a note in English in the car, in which he admitted that he was acting on behalf of the Islamic State. However, the police have no evidence indicating that Saipov was in any way connected with the organization.
Experts analyzing the tragedy in the media suggested that Saipov waved the dummy weapons purposefully, as he wanted to be shot by the police. As analysts explained, according to radical teachings, a militant who dies at the scene of a terrorist attack becomes a “martyr” and goes to heaven.
It is known that the car driven by the alleged criminal was rented. However, it is unknown where, by whom and for how long the car was rented.