U-Haul riot suspect on NYC streets expected to be ‘targeted by police’: sources

A man driving a rented U-Haul truck that crashed into several people on the streets, bike paths and sidewalks of two boroughs of Brooklyn testified against himself during statements to the police, saying that he wanted to be the target of shooting by police, law enforcement. sources said.

The driver, a 62-year-old man currently in police custody, is believed to be the only actor to carry out the mysterious rampage in the Bay Ridge and Sunset Park areas. And while the motive remains unclear, the NYPD commissioner said there is currently no evidence pointing to any involvement in terrorism, which she called a “violent rampage.”

Investigators are still working to truly determine the motive behind Monday morning’s rioting, which left one dead and eight injured, although his alleged statements about police wanting to shoot him shed light on a possible motive.

One man, 44-year-old Yijie Ye, died late on Monday evening, according to two law enforcement officials. Eight more people were injured, one of them was seriously injured. All patients, including the NYPD officer, were taken to NYC Langone in Brooklyn.

Police traced the start of the driver’s rampage back to Bay Ridge, near 5th Avenue and Bay Ridge Parkway, and then continued north to Sunset Park. There were initial reports that the truck ran onto the pavement with police chasing it.

The CCTV footage captures only a fraction of the danger the driver posed to everyone on or near the road on Monday morning. The video shows a man on a moped turning around after being cut off by a truck.

A U-Haul truck was seen on video driving down 4th Avenue near 55th Street and swerving unannounced into a bike lane where the cyclist was hit and thrown over without any warning of what was about to happen. The second cyclist in front seemed to see the U-turn and swerved to the side as the truck showed no sign of slowing down. The video shows how the driver tried to run over other cyclists, but could not, after which he sped away on 4th Avenue.

In another video, a man on the pavement jumps to the side, narrowly missing the impact of a truck as he races down the sidewalk with a police car chasing him.

Here’s a timeline of Monday’s events, according to the NYPD, before the suspect was finally pulled over and arrested:

1. 10:17: A U-Haul truck driver hit a 36-year-old man near 4th Avenue and 55th Street in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The victim sustained a leg injury and is said to be in stable condition.
2. 10:29: A 34-year-old man was shot near 5th Avenue and Senator Street in Bay Ridge, suffering chest injuries. He was taken to the hospital and is expected to be fine.
3. 10:31: A 30-year-old man was shot near Bay Ridge Parkway and 7th Avenue. Police said he suffered leg injuries and is expected to recover.
4. 10:36: A truck hit a 51-year-old man near Bay Ridge Boulevard and 12th Avenue, causing him head injuries. He was taken to the hospital, where police say he is recovering.
5. 10:48: A 44-year-old man suffered serious head injuries in an impact near Bay Ridge Parkway and 5th Avenue. He later died in the hospital.
6. 10:50: Another man was wounded near Bay Ridge Parkway and 7th Avenue. A 38-year-old man was taken to the hospital with leg injuries.
7. 11:05: A 33-year-old police officer and a 32-year-old man were shot near 72nd Street and 3rd Avenue in Bay Ridge. The officer sustained leg injuries and another man suffered head and chest injuries, but both were expected to recover.
8. 11:05: Just a block away, on 73rd Street and 3rd Avenue, the oldest victim, a 66-year-old man, was shot. He is expected to recover from a neck and knee injury.

By 11:30 a.m., the NYPD surrounded a truck with Arizona license plates and its driver at the corner between Red Hook and Carroll Gardens. The driver was arrested without incident.

The truck, which had stopped by a police car on the sidewalk, was searched and cleared of all possible explosives. The stop was part of seven different scenes in Brooklyn that were sorted out looking for clues, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said Monday afternoon.

U-Haul driver arrested after attacking pedestrians and cyclists this morning in Brooklyn. Reports by Adam Harding, Pei-Sze Cheng and Jonathan Deanst.

Senior law enforcement officials identified the driver as 62-year-old Wen Sor. He returned to the area after renting a truck in Daytona Beach on January 23 and allegedly driving it through the county. Sor was arrested earlier this month in South Carolina for reckless driving and released on bail, according to a senior law enforcement official. He may have lived outside the truck.

During his arrest, Sor allegedly told the arresting officers that he wanted to die. A senior law enforcement official told News 4 that Sor said in a statement that he “only ran over bad people, not good people.” The official added that Sor was not taking the medication he was supposed to be taking.

The suspected driver returned to Brooklyn in an attempt to visit the estranged family, but continued to suffer from existing mental health issues. The official said police were called back in 2019 after Sor allegedly yelled and behaved erratically on the street.

Sources told NBC New York that Sora’s family said he had emotional problems and spent time behind bars, but was never a religious extremist or radical. Two officials said the Brooklyn prosecutor’s office would take over the prosecution as Sora faces an attempted murder charge.

Weng Sor’s son, Steven Sor, 30, told The Associated Press that his father suffered from a mental illness and until recently lived in Las Vegas, where he was convicted and served time for numerous acts of violence, including stabbing, according to records. . his own brother.

“A lot of the time he goes off medication and does stuff like that,” Stephen Sahr said in an interview outside his Brooklyn home. This is not the first time he has been arrested. It’s not the first time he’s been in jail.”

Steven Sor said he was surprised when Weng Sor showed up in Brooklyn in the middle of the night about a week ago. He said they didn’t talk often and called their relationship “uneasy”.

“I try to just keep my distance while he leaves us alone,” Stephen Sahr said.

In 2015, Ven Sor stabbed his brother to death in Las Vegas and served about 17 months in a Nevada jail, according to court and prison records. In 2020, he stabbed someone in the arm and chest and was sentenced to 364 days in county jail, of which he had already served about 10 months.

Before pleading guilty in this case, Sor underwent several months of examinations in state psychiatric institutions until he was found capable of filing charges, court records show. The records do not indicate a possible diagnosis, but note that Sor was on medication.

In an earlier case in Nevada, Sor was ordered to undergo counseling and perform community service after pleading guilty to petty battery in 2005. At the time, the judge noted that Sor was moving to New York and ordered him to undergo a mental health examination when there.

A few hours later, the truck was towed from the crime scene. U-Haul spokesman Geoff Lockridge said Sor provided a valid driver’s license and paid the 30-day rental in advance. According to Lockridge, U-Haul had no knowledge of what Sor had previously rented from the company.

While investigators work to determine possible motives for the vehicle attack, the mayor’s office issued a statement to reassure the public that there were no further credible threats following the driver’s arrest.

“At this time, we have no idea about the motives, but this was not an accident,” tweeted Council Member Justin Brennan, representing Red Hook.

Gov. Kathy Hochul also tweeted that she is aware of the unfolding situation and will coordinate with the NYPD as needed.

The devastation disrupted a late-morning routine and immediately brought back memories of other vehicle attacks on bikers and pedestrians in the crowded city, including the deadly 2017 terrorist attack that killed eight people on a Manhattan bike path, and how an uptight motorist rampaged through Times Square. a year in which one died and 20 were injured.

The jury convened on Monday to consider whether Saipov should be sentenced to death; the two incidents are believed to be unrelated.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.