President Trump lashed out on Twitter Friday morning against the 29-year-old suspect in Tuesday’s terror attack in New York City that killed eight people and left several others wounded.
In an early morning tweet, Trump blasted the suspected driver of the rented truck that struck a crowd of pedestrians in lower Manhattan, calling him a “degenerate animal.”
“ISIS just claimed the Degenerate Animal who killed, and so badly wounded, the wonderful people on the West Side, was “their soldier,”” Trump said Friday.
Trump added in a second tweet that he has ordered an increase in military actions against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) as a result of Tuesday’s attack.
{mosads}
“Based on that, the Military has hit ISIS “much harder” over the last two days. They will pay a big price for every attack on us!” Trump tweeted.
Multiple outlets reported Thursday ISIS took credit for the attack.
According to reports, police officers found two cellphones inside Saipov’s truck, and law enforcement said they had “tracked the numbers on the phones and have linked them to ‘sympathizers of a radical cause’ who were already on ‘New York police radar.'”
Officials had previously described the suspect as a “lone wolf” attacker who was inspired by propaganda online.
Saipov was shot by police and transported to a nearby hospital after exiting his vehicle with “imitation firearms,” according to police, and was heard by witnesses shouting “Allah Akbar” — Arabic for “God is great” — at the scene.
The 29-year-old immigrant from Uzbekistan has been charged with providing material support for ISIS, as well as a federal charge of violence and destruction of a motor vehicle with willful disregard for human life, which is punishable by the death penalty.