NYC Attack Suspect Was Questioned by Feds in 2015

Trump is considering sending 'animal' Sayfullo Saipov to Guantanamo
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 1, 2017 1:47 PM CDT
Trump Says NYC Attack Suspect Is 'Animal,' May Be Sent to Gitmo
A photo of Sayfullo Saipov is displayed at a news conference at One Police Plaza Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017, in New York.   (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

President Trump says he may send Sayfullo Saipov, the 29-year-old who allegedly killed eight people Tuesday in New York City, to Guantanamo Bay as the first step in getting "much tougher" on terror suspects, the Washington Post reports. The president called Saipov, who arrived in the US from Uzbekistan in 2010 and is a legal permanent US resident, an "animal" and the justice system's treatment of terror suspects "a joke." Instead of a lengthy trial, Trump says "we need quick justice, and we need strong justice." Here's what else you need to know about Saipov, who is expected to live after being shot by police:

  • Department of Homeland Security agents interviewed Saipov in 2015 after he was listed as a "point of contact" for two men who were added to the Counterterrorism and Criminal Exploitation Unit list upon arriving in the US from "threat countries," ABC News reports. Agents didn't have enough evidence to open a case on Saipov at the time.
  • Officials say Saipov's attack was inspired by ISIS after they found a note inside the Home Depot rental truck he used to ram his victims that translates to "ISIS Lives Forever," NBC News reports.
  • Back at ABC News, police say Saipov was planning the attack for weeks and "appears to have followed almost exactly to a 'T' the instructions that ISIS has put out in its social media channels." Officials say Saipov has been interviewed and seems "proud" of the attack.

  • Sen. John McCain called the attack an "act of war" and says Saipov should be treated "as an enemy combatant" and "should not be read Miranda Rights," Mediaite reports.
  • Officials believe Saipov, who tried to start at least three trucking companies in Ohio and Florida, became radicalized after arriving in the US by reading ISIS propaganda online, according to the Los Angeles Times. They don't believe he was part of a terror cell or personally directed to carry out the attack.

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  • An Ohio truck driver who knew Saipov tells the AP that Saipov was "not happy with his life" and would fight with friends and family. He says insurance for his truck was taken away over traffic tickets and companies stopped hiring him. When Saipov's truck engine blew up a few months ago, things would have only gotten worse, the truck driver speculates.
  • Finally, NBC News reports authorities hope Saipov's wife can provide some answers about how he went from truck driver to alleged terrorist. So far she's been cooperative and says she didn't know about his plans for an attack.
(More Sayfullo Saipov stories.)

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