RTThu, 18 May 2017 17:33 UTC
© Mike SegarA vehicle that struck pedestrians in Times Square and later crashed is seen on the sidewalk in New York City, US, May 18, 2017
New York City Police have declared a "mass casualty incident" after a speeding car drove onto the sidewalk in Times Square, killing one and injuring at least a dozen people. The incident does
not seem to be a terrorist attack, police said.
Seven people were loaded onto stretchers, while one person has died, a witness told Reuters. The New York Fire Department said that one person was killed and 19 others were injured in a
"motor vehicle incident."
The car reportedly drove the wrong way up 7th Avenue, crossed onto the sidewalk and hit at least 13 people. It eventually crashed into metal barriers at the corner of 7th Avenue and 45th Street.
Video and photos from the scene show dark red vehicle tilted to its side against a barrier, surrounded by firefighters. Another video shows a man being led away by NYPD officers.
Richard Rojas, US Navy veteran, snaps in NYC, kills one, injures 22, terrifies thousands
WCBS-TV has identified the suspect as a 26-year-old male resident of The Bronx with
two previous drunk-driving convictions. The
New York Post gives the suspect's name as Richard Rojas. The crash took place as
Rojas was fleeing from the police after a robbery, according to Fox News.
The incident is
not being treated as a terrorist attack at this time, according to NYPD.
An injured pedestrian told Reuters that
the driver's actions appeared "intentional." According to a witness, the vehicle drove against traffic and into the sidewalk, where it struck pedestrians.
Police have cordoned off the intersection of 45th Street and Broadway, as they investigate the incident. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is on the site.
Comment: What they're downplaying is the fact that the driver, Richard Rojas, served in the US Navy from 2011 to 2015.
Furthermore, he
doesn't appear to have been drunk:
Rojas was calm and quiet as police later led him out of the precinct hours later - a marked difference from just a few hours earlier. He was seen in a crosswalk moments before the crash as looking completely crazed before he was taken into custody.
Police sources tell CBS2 that Rojas passed the breathalyzer test.
In fact, he
sounds very much like the guy who mowed down people in Nice, France last year:
Officials said Rojas told police he was "hearing voices" and investigators believe he may have been under the influence of drugs, with an alcohol test coming back negative.
"You were supposed to shoot me! I wanted to kill them," he shouted after being detained, a source told Reuters.
Another eyewitness, a Planet Hollywood employee named Ken Bradix, who helped subdue the raving Rojas after he got out of the car,
told Associated Press:
"He began screaming, no particular words but just utter screaming. He was swinging his arms at the same time. There was something wrong with him."
So, the question is: why is this one
not a 'terror attack'?
Update: According to the criminal complaint, Rojas "had glassy eyes, slurred speech and was unsteady." Rojas also allegedly told an officer "I smoked marijuana. I laced the marijuana with PCP".
RT adds:
A childhood friend of Rojas's says he seemed to become emotionally disturbed after a stint in the Navy from 2011 to 2014.
"That's my friend," Harrison Ramos told WINS. "I'm concerned for him. It hurts."
Just last Thursday, Rojas was arrested for menacing, accused of pulling a kitchen knife on a visitor to his Bronx home.
In April 2015, he was arrested for DWI in Manhattan and later pleaded guilty to operating a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol. In August 2008, he was also arrested for DWI in Queens.
He was also arrested on suspicion of battery in 2012 at the Mayport Naval Base in Jacksonville, Florida, where he was stationed at the time.
Update (May 21): Speaking from jail, Richard Rojas told the
New York Post that he cannot remember last Thursday's events, and made emotional pleas for forgiveness. He says he had sought help and attempted to "fix his life", unsuccessfully:
Rojas says he attempted to consult a mental health counselor at a local veterans' center, but the specialist was not available until Monday, May 22.
"I was trying to get help. I wanted to fix my life. I wanted to get a job. Get a girlfriend," Rojas told the Post, speaking from Rikers Island. "He [the counselor] said he'd call me on Monday...Monday hasn't come yet."
Rojas claims that the last thing he remembers doing Thursday was driving his vehicle in an attempt to unwind.
"It was just a normal morning. I had a sandwich ... I wanted to clear my head. I told my mom, I said I was just going around," he says, adding that later he "woke up in the precinct" and was "terrified."
At the time of his arrest following the shocking ramming of pedestrians in Times Square, which resulted in an 18-year-old woman being killed and serious injuries to several of the two dozen other people hit, the violent Rojas was recorded to be saying to police: "You were supposed to shoot me! I wanted to kill them." Prosecutors says he also shouted that he smoked marijuana and laced it with Phencyclidine, a dissociative drug known as PCP or "angel dust" with hallucinogenic side effects.
However, speaking to the New York Post on Saturday, Rojas appeared less certain about what he smoked, saying: "I guess it was laced with something."
Not directly accepting his guilt and saying that he still wants to "verify that I'm the person" behind the rampage, Rojas apologized to the victims of his crazed drive.
"I just want to apologize to all the victims' families ... I want to apologize to my mom," he said.
Comment: What they're downplaying is the fact that the driver, Richard Rojas, served in the US Navy from 2011 to 2015.
Furthermore, he doesn't appear to have been drunk: In fact, he sounds very much like the guy who mowed down people in Nice, France last year: Another eyewitness, a Planet Hollywood employee named Ken Bradix, who helped subdue the raving Rojas after he got out of the car, told Associated Press: So, the question is: why is this one not a 'terror attack'?
Update: According to the criminal complaint, Rojas "had glassy eyes, slurred speech and was unsteady." Rojas also allegedly told an officer "I smoked marijuana. I laced the marijuana with PCP". RT adds: Update (May 21): Speaking from jail, Richard Rojas told the New York Post that he cannot remember last Thursday's events, and made emotional pleas for forgiveness. He says he had sought help and attempted to "fix his life", unsuccessfully: