NEW YORK _ The man behind the wheel of a rented truck that cut a path of destruction along a lower Manhattan bike path planned on continuing to the Brooklyn Bridge after the West Side Highway and "wanted to kill as many people as he could," according to court papers.
Sayfullo Saipov, 29, was so determined to wreak the maximum amount of havoc that he circled Halloween on his calendar because he knew more people would be out and about.
Saipov was arraigned Wednesday before Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses, and was charged with providing material support to a terrorist group and violence and destruction of motor vehicles.
A weak-looking Saipov wore gray sweats, and was pushed into Manhattan Federal Court in a wheelchair, where he wore an earpiece and communicated with a Russian translator.
He was handcuffed and his feet were shackled.
Prosecutors, in documents formally charging Saipov with the deaths of eight people in an attack that left more than a dozen wounded, said Saipov had even rented a truck weeks before, and had been practicing making turns to get a feel for how the vehicle handled.
The practice run was part of an elaborate plan that was in effect for more than a year, according to court papers.
Saipov entered Manhattan across the George Washington Bridge before rumbling south on the West Side Highway, prosecutors said.
"Once the truck was in the vicinity of Houston Street in Manhattan, the truck proceeded onto the bike lane and pedestrian walkway of the West Side Highway," the criminal complaint says.
"The truck then drove down the walkway for several blocks and struck numerous civilians on the walkway. The truck eventually collided with a school bus, which was carrying occupants in the vicinity of West Street and Chambers Street."
"Saipov rented the truck from the store for a period of two hours but had no intention of ever returning it," the criminal complaint said.
After Saipov was shot and subdued, police recovered two cellphones and a stun gun on the floor of the truck. One of the phones contained nearly 90 videos, most of which contained Islamic State propaganda.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joon Kim said cops also recovered a note written in Arabic and English that expressed allegiance to the terrorist group.
"Everyday people in this city are not afraid of their evil," Joon said. "They see through their false, hateful rhetoric and are committed to bringing them to justice."
The documents said Saipov even requested to have the Islamic State flag flown in his hospital room.
