Jewish-Argentinian man among New York terror attack victims

According to media reports, Erlij was a successful businessman and well-known figure in his home country.

By JPOST.COM STAFF, REUTERS
A pickup truck used in an attack sits on the intersection of West and Chambers Street in Manhattan, New York, US, October 31 2017. (photo credit: REUTERS)
A pickup truck used in an attack sits on the intersection of West and Chambers Street in Manhattan, New York, US, October 31 2017.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
A Jewish-Argentinian man, Ariel Erlij, has been named as one of the victims of Tuesday's ramming attack in New York that killed eight people and wounded at least 11.
According to media reports, Erlij was a successful businessman and well-known figure in his home country.
Argentina's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the deaths of five nationals, visiting New York as part of a group of friends celebrating the 30th anniversary of their high school graduation. A sixth member of the group was among those hospitalized after the attack, the ministry said in a statement.
The 29-year-old suspect was shot in the abdomen by police and arrested after he crashed the truck into a school bus and fled his vehicle, authorities said.
The incident marked the greatest loss of life from a suspected terrorist attack in New York since suicide hijackers crashed jetliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan on September 11, 2001, killing more than 2,600 people.
Tuesday's assault, on the far west side of lower Manhattan a few blocks from the site of the World Trade Center, was reminiscent of deadly vehicle attacks in Israel and Europe.
According to authorities and media reports, the man accused of killing eight people by racing a pickup truck down a New York City bike path on Tuesday may have worked as a driver and lived in New Jersey after emigrating from Uzbekistan seven years ago.
Police have declined to identify the man but a source familiar with the investigation identified him as Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov and said he was not a US citizen. His immigration status was not immediately clear.