1 dead after U-Haul truck hits and injures 9 people in a ‘violent rampage’ in Brooklyn, police say

One person has died after a U-Haul truck hit and injured nine people, including a police officer, in a "violent rampage" Monday across Brooklyn, New York City police said.

Officers responded to a report of a man driving a U-Haul truck in the Bay Ridge area of Brooklyn and striking pedestrians at 10:50 a.m., New York Police Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell told reporters.

Authorities ultimately stopped the vehicle near the entrance of the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel and took the driver into custody before noon.

One victim, a 44-year-old man, died, a police spokesperson said. Eight others, including a police officer, were struck and injured, police said. Their ages are 30 to 66.

"At this time, there is no nexus to terrorism," Sewell tweeted earlier Monday evening.

Sewell has not released the driver's name. Four senior law enforcement officials identified him as Weng Sor, 62, a man with a criminal record dating to 2005 in Clark County, Nevada. It was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney.

The van had an Arizona license plate, said two senior law enforcement officials briefed about the matter.

Seven locations were being processed, Sewell said.

Seven of the injured were civilians, and one was a police officer “taking police action,” she said. Three of the injured were on mopeds, and at least one was a pedestrian, a man in his 30s, officials said.

'No indication that there is any terrorism involvement'

Sewell said Monday evening two of the injured were stable and two were in serious condition. Earlier, officials said two were in critical condition and two were in serious condition.

Sewell stressed there is "no indication that there is any terrorism involvement in this incident."

Sor has an address in Brooklyn, as well as a previous address in Las Vegas.

His criminal record in Nevada includes a 2015 case for felony battery and a citation last month for speeding over the traffic limit. In the 2015 case, he was found guilty and sentenced to one to three years in jail, records show. He was also ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation.

New York City Council member Justin Brannan, whose district includes Bay Ridge, tweeted, “We have no idea of motives at this time but this wasn’t an accident.”

Brannan said later that one of the victims was a married father of two, who was in a coma. “Please pray for him and keep his family in your thoughts tonight,” he wrote.

Gov. Kathy Hochul tweeted Monday afternoon that she was briefed and that her team was coordinating with police. “I am praying for everyone who was injured today in Brooklyn,” she wrote.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams was also briefed, his press secretary, Fabien Levy, tweeted.

“While the suspect is in custody, the NYPD is still investigating. There are no additional credible threats at this time,” Levy said.

Sayfullo Saipov, 35, was convicted in January and faces a death sentence after he killed eight people in a similar attack in 2017. Saipov drove a truck into a bike path on the West Side Highway, then told the FBI that he "felt good" about his actions.