Haizhan Zheng/iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the incident in New York City on Tuesday that left at least eight people dead after a truck plowed into a bicycle path was the action of a “lone wolf,” and that “there’s no evidence to suggest a wider plot or wider scheme.”
“New York is an international symbol of freedom and democracy,” Cuomo said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon from the New York Police Department headquarters. “We are proud of it, that also makes us a target.”
The governor added that there will be an increased police presence in New York City out of caution, but there is no evidence of any ongoing threat.
“We go forward together and we go forward stronger than ever, we’re not going to let them win, and if we change our lives, we contort ourselves to them, then they win and we lose,” Cuomo said.
The governor lauded the actions of the first responders and said his “thoughts and prayers are with those New Yorkers that we lost today.”
“It reminds us all how precious life is they left the house this morning, they were enjoying the beautiful West Side of Manhattan,” he added. “And they’re not going to be returning home.”
Cuomo continued that an investigation will continue, and “justice will be done.”
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio slammed the incident today as a “cowardly act of terror.”
“We know this action was intended to break our spirit,” de Blasio added. “Our spirit will never be moved by an act of violence and an act meant … to intimidate us.”
The mayor encouraged New Yorkers to “be vigilant” and speak up if they see something suspicious, and said that additional NYPD officers will be deployed this evening and in the days to come.
“New Yorkers do not give in in the face of these kinds of actions,” he added. “We will be undeterred.”
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