A man who killed eight people on a New York City bike path five years ago left a “scene of destruction and horror” where “screams filled the air” before telling an FBI agent he was proud of the destruction he caused, he also wanted the flag of his terrorist group to be in his hospital room, a prosecutor said at the beginning of the trial.
Alexander Li, deputy attorney general, began his statement in Manhattan federal court by recreating the terrorist attack carried out by Sayfullo Saipov, who carried out the crime on Halloween in 2017 with a rented van that sped into a crowd at 66mph.
As Saipov played with the mouse on the computer on the defense table, Li turned to point in his direction, saying the defendant was to blame for the deaths of the eight people and the permanent injuries of others.
The prosecutor described the scene as a “scene of destruction and horror” in which destroyed bicycles were littered along the road and “screams filled the air” as survivors “reeled, wounded and dazed”, looking for his family and friends. Among the victims of the attack was a family of tourists from Belgium and 10 friends from Argentina.
It also said Saipov, 34, who has pleaded not guilty, was charged after crashing his truck into a school bus, leaving a minor with severe brain damage, Li said. He got out of the truck with a pellet gun and a paintball gun and shouted a phrase in Arabic: “Allahu Akbar!” which means “God is great!”
The prosecutor said the defendant intended the shout to be “celebratory.” He was shot by a police officer and taken into custody at the scene along West Side Highway, CBS News reported.
Li said the official will be among the witnesses to tell what happened that day, along with the FBI agent whom Saipov asked to display an “ISIS” flag in his hospital room.
“He was proud of his attack. He told an FBI agent that his goal was to kill as many people as possible,” the prosecutor said, adding that the agent will testify that Saipov smiled as he recounted his destruction.
The trial follows a six-month jury selection process aimed at weeding out people who might not be impartial.
Saipov’s defense said the death penalty process was irrevocably flawed by former Republican President Donald Trump when he posted on his Twitter account in all caps the day after the attack that “I SHOULD GET THE DEATH PENALTY!”
In 2019, the defendant spoke during a pre-trial hearing stating that “thousands and thousands of Muslims are dying all over the world” and questioned why he should be tried for eight deaths.
Li said jurors will hear testimony about Saipov’s desire to win over the Islamic State group after he legally moved to the United States from Uzbekistan in 2010. He lived in Ohio and Florida before joining relatives in Paterson, New Jersey.
In addition, the prosecutor disclosed that Saipov’s cell phones contained evidence that he viewed and saved thousands of Islamic State propaganda images, including calls to use vehicles and trucks as weapons of terrorist attack in the United States.
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