Trump: NY attack suspect should be executed
Donald Trump has called for the man suspected of being behind New York's worst terror attack si..
Donald Trump has called for the man suspected of being behind New York's worst terror attack since 9/11 to get the death penalty.
Sayfullo Saipov has been charged with killing eight people in Manhattan after a rented truck was driven down a bike path close to the Hudson River and World Trade Center, targeting terrified pedestrians and cylists.
Saipov has also been charged with providing material support to Islamic State.
The suspect was shot in the chest by a police officer and then arrested, after crashing into a bus and getting out of his vehicle, brandishing air guns and knives and shouting "Allahu Akbar" – Arabic for "God is greatest".
:: How the Manhattan terror attack unfolded
The 29-year-old, who moved to the US in 2010 from Uzbekistan, has told investigators he was inspired by watching IS videos and began planning the atrocity more than a year ago.
According to court documents and authorities, Saipov:
:: Stated that he felt good about what he had done
:: Made a trial run for the attack the week before
:: Told officers he wanted to kill as many pedestrians as possible and carried out the attack on Halloween because there would be more people out on the streets
:: Wanted to continue his killing spree across the Brooklyn Bridge
:: Asked for an IS flag to be put in his hospital room
Investigators disclosed that they found thousands of IS propaganda images and videos on a phone belonging to Saipov.
These revelations prompted the President to write on Twitter:
NYC terrorist was happy as he asked to hang ISIS flag in his hospital room. He killed 8 people, badly injured 12. SHOULD GET DEATH PENALTY!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 2, 2017
Mr Trump had earlier said he would be open to sending Saipov to Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba and vowed to dismantle the diversity immigrant visa programme, which he says allowed Saipov to come to the US.
The government could choose to seek the death penalty against Saipov as the charge relating to the attack itself – violence and destruction of motor vehicles causing the deaths of eight people – would make him eligible for capital punishment if found guilty.
Saipov's comments emerged because authorities said he waived his rights to remain silent and avoid self-incrimination and spoke to them without an attorney present from his bed at Bellevue Hospital Center in Manhattan.
:: 'Hero cop risked his life' to shoot NY suspect
He appeared in court on Wednesday shackled in a wheelchair, and was remanded in custody.
As the investigation into the atrocity continues, the FBI said it had located another Uzbek man wanted for questioning as a person of interest, 32-year-old Mukhammadzoir Kadirov.
US law enforcement officials said Saipov had been in contact with Kadirov and another person of interest in the investigation.
Five of the eight people killed in the attack were part of a group from Argentina celebrating the 30th anniversary of their high school graduation.
Two Americans and a Belgian woman who was in the city with her mother and sister also died.
Twelve people were also injured in the city's deadliest attack since 2001, when al Qaeda terrorists flew hijacked planes into the Twin Towers and killed more than 2,600 people.
