The Uzbek immigrant behind New York’s worst attack in 16 years confessed to acting in the name of the Islamic State group and “felt good” about the killings, having planned an assault for a year, investigators said on Wednesday.
The shocking details emerged as federal prosecutors filed terrorism charges against Sayfullo Saipov, who subsequently appeared in court in a wheelchair — he had been shot in the abdomen by police — 24 hours after mowing down pedestrians and cyclists, and colliding with a school bus.
US President Donald Trump vowed an immediate crackdown on the visa program that he said allowed the 29-year-old to immigrate in 2010, saying he would “certainly consider” sending the suspect to the military detention center in Guantanamo Bay and later calling for his execution.
The attack killed eight people, five of them childhood friends from Argentina celebrating 30 years since their high school graduation, a 31-year-old Belgian mother, and two US men, from New York and neighboring New Jersey.
