Assessing Sayfullo Saipov’s Vehicular Terrorist Attack, New York City, October 31, 2017

By Dr. Joshua Sinai

This article assesses Sayfullo Saipov’s vehicular ramming attack in New York City, on October 31, 2017 as a case study of how a lone actor terrorist carries out an attack and the pre-incident phases that could have prevented it if some of those who came into contact with him had contacted the appropriate authorities to preempt him during the formative pre-incident phases. To examine these issues, the article discusses the incident, the attacker’s biographical background, his pathway to violence, and the tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) used in his attack.

This article is part of a series of profiles of lone actor terrorist attacks that are being compiled by the author as part of a forthcoming handbook of case studies on lone actor terrorist attacks. It is hoped that the case studies will generate findings about the nature of lone actor terrorists and the measures required to preempt them during the formative pre-incident phases.

The Incident

At around 3:00pm on October 31, 2017, Sayfullo Habilbullaevi Saipov, age 29, drove his rented pickup truck from Northern New Jersey, proceeded across the George Washington Bridge, and then drove south into lower Manhattan, where he drove for about a mile along a bike path, mowing people along the way, killing eight and wounding 11 others.(1) The vehicle ramming attack ended when he crashed into a school bus. He then jumped out of his wrecked truck brandishing two imitation guns, and shouted, Allah...