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Official says 8 dead in truck attack near World Trade Center

NEW YORK (AP) - The Latest on a vehicle driving onto a bike path and gunfire near the World Trade Center site and memorial (all times local):

6 p.m.

A law enforcement official says that witnesses told police that the man who drove a rented truck onto a bike path in New York City, killing eight people, shouted "allahu akbar."

The official was familiar with the investigation but wasn't authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Police Commissioner James O'Neill was asked at a news conference whether the suspect shouted the phrase, which means "God is great" in Arabic, or something like it. O'Neill replied: "Yeah. He did make a statement when he exited the vehicle," though he declined to elaborate.

O'Neill says the method of attack and the suspect's statement enabled officials "to label this a terrorist event."

He says the 29-year-old man entered the bike path and drove south, hitting pedestrians and cyclists. He then hit a school bus, injuring at least two adults.

He says the man exited the vehicle brandishing a paintball gun and a pellet gun. He was then shot in the abdomen by a police officer and is now hospitalized.

5:25 p.m.

New York City's mayor says a truck attack in lower Manhattan killed eight people and was a "cowardly" act of terror.

Mayor Bill de Blasio says the attack on a bike path near the World Trade Center "was an act of terror, and a particularly cowardly act of terror aimed at innocent civilians."

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called it a "lone wolf" attack. He says there's no evidence to suggest it was part of a wider plot.

4:45 p.m.

The White House says President Donald Trump has been briefed on the vehicle that drove onto a bike path near the World Trade Center and struck several people.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the president and New York native has been briefed by White House chief of staff John Kelly and "will be continually updated as more details are known."

Sanders says, "Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected."

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