Uzek immigrant Sayfullo Saipov's accused of mowing down pedestrians, killing 8.
Over the past few weeks, Carlos Batista noticed something odd - his neighbour Sayfullo Saipov would occasionally drive a Home Depot pickup truck on the block, even though he didn't seem to be carrying any building material, or doing any construction work.
Batista, 23, said he noticed Saipov driving the truck around with a couple of his friends.
"They didn't even have one piece of wood in there, and that's why I found it a little suspicious," he said. "And I do construction, so I know when somebody is doing some type of work."
Federal prosecutors yesterday brought terrorism charges against Saipov. Federal agents suspect the early rentals were part of his preparation for the attack he carried out on Wednesday - mowing down bicyclists and pedestrians on a busy bike path on the west side of Manhattan.
Eight people were killed and a dozen injured - the deadliest act of terrorism in New York City since the World Trade Centre was felled by aeroplane hijackers in 2001.
According to criminal charges, Saipov rented the truck on October 22 to practise making turns with the vehicle in preparation for the attack. The criminal complaint said Saipov confessed that he began planning for it about a year ago.
Saipov emigrated to the United States from Uzbekistan in 2010, and before moving to Paterson he lived in Ohio and Florida. Counterterrorism officials say they had not previously investigated him, but his name had surfaced in an FBI probe of a friend, and he was named as a point of contact on immigration paperwork for other immigrants.
Sayfullo Saipov. Photo / AP
In his confession to authorities after the attack, Saipov left no doubt about his motive - support for Isis (Islamic State).
According to the criminal complaint filed against him, Saipov "requested to display Isis's flag in his hospital room and stated that he felt good about what he had done".
Investigators also said he had been watching violent Isis videos on his phone for months.
Friends and acquaintances said since he came to the US, Saipov worked intermittently as a truck driver and an Uber driver, but some said he had a bad temper and lost driving jobs because of it.
When his neighbour Batista saw the Home Depot rental truck on his block, Saipov was always driving, and his two friends were passengers. While he found Saipov's use of the truck odd, he didn't stand out in other ways, the neighbour said. Batista thought of him generally as a calming influence in the neighbourhood, where he'd lived for about half a year.
One time, when Batista was riding his dirt bike, he got into an argument with two of Saipov's friends. Saipov emerged from his house to break up the dispute. "He was the peacemaker," Batista said. "I went on my way." Batista did not know the names of the two men Saipov was often seen with.
FBI officials have questioned Saipov's wife, who has denied any knowledge of the planned violence, according to a person familiar with the discussion.
Other neighbours on the block of Genessee Avenue where Saipov lived said nothing struck them as unusual about the 29-year-old father of three young children.
