Terrorist Came Here Legally From Uzbekistan; Diversity Immigrant Visa

BY SUSAN JONES  /  FAMILY SECURITY MATTERS

Hours after a terror attack that killed eight people in lower Manhattan, Americans flocked to New York City’s annual Halloween parade in Greenwich Village.

“NYers are resilient and won’t be deterred,” New York City Police Department Commissioner James O’Neill tweeted Tuesday night. “Great to see large crowd at annual Halloween parade in Village. Thx for showing world who we are.”

Eight people, including five Argentinians and one Belgian tourist, were killed when 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov, who came here legally from Uzbekistan, rammed a rented Home Depot truck into bicyclists and pedestrians enjoying a sunny autumn day on a bike path near the World Trade Center site.

Press reports said Saipov shouted “Allahu akbar” when he emerged from his truck, brandishing a paintball gun and a pellet gun. Police shot him in the abdomen, but he’s expected to survive.

His rampage ended almost a mile after it started, when he crashed into a school bus.

Among the 13 people he injured are the two students and two adults on the school bus.

Press reports say Saiov left noted pledging loyalty to the Islamic State in and around his truck.

The suspect came to the U.S. in 2010 on a Diversity Immigrant Visa and had a green card. He reportedly was an Uber driver, who passed a background check done by the company.

The Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act provides for a class of immigrants known as “diversity immigrants,” from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. A limited number of visas are available each fiscal year, the State Department says on its website.

So Saipov was among the few who won the visa lottery.

President Trump, a native New Yorker, tweeted several times about the attack Tuesday night, saying:

“In NYC, looks like another attack by a very sick and deranged person. Law enforcement is following this closely. NOT IN THE U.S.A.!”

“We must not allow ISIS to return, or enter, our country after defeating them in the Middle East and elsewhere. Enough!”

“My thoughts, condolences and prayers to the victims and families of the New York City terrorist attack. God and your country are with you!”

The suspect reportedly had a wife and two children and was living in Paterson, N.J., although he had a Florida driver’s license.

Courtesy of CNSNews.com 

Susan brings to CNSNews.com a strong background in broadcast writing and editing. She joined CNSNews.com in April 1999, after working for 18 years as a television producer and news-writer in the Washington, D.C., Denver, and Greensboro, N.C., television markets. Susan holds a bachelor’s degree from Mount Holyoke College and a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University.    

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