NEW YORK — A man in a rented pickup truck mowed down pedestrians and cyclists along a busy bike path near the ***** Trade Center memorial on Tuesday, ******* at least eight and seriously injuring 11 in what the mayor called “a particularly cowardly act of ******.”

The driver was shot in the abdomen by ****** after jumping out of the truck with what turned out to be a fake *** in each hand and shouting what witnesses said was “Allahu Akbar,” Arabic for “God is great,” authorities said. The man underwent surgery and was in ****************** but was expected to survive.

Officials who were not authorized to discuss the ************* and spoke on the condition of anonymity identified the ******** as 29-year-old *************** and said he is from Uzbekistan and came to the U.S. legally in 2010. He has a ******* driver’s license but may have been staying in New Jersey, they said.

The driver barrelled along the bike path in a rented Home Depot truck for the equivalent of about 14 blocks, or around eight-tenths of a mile, before slamming into a small yellow school bus. The mayhem and the burst of ****** ******* set off panic in the neighbourhood and left the pavement strewn with mangled bicycles and bodies that were soon covered with sheets.

“I saw a lot of ***** over there. A lot of people on the ground,” said Chen Yi, an Uber driver.

Eugene Duffy, a chef at a waterfront restaurant, said, “So many ****** came, and they didn’t know what was happening. People were screaming. Females were screaming at the top of their lungs.”

Argentina’s foreign minister said the **** included Argentine citizens.

****** closed off streets across the western edge of lower Manhattan along the Hudson River, and officers rushed into the neighbourhood just as people were preparing for Halloween festivities, including the big annual parade through Greenwich Village.

A ****** **** squad scoured the truck but found no explosives.

“This was an act of ******, and a particularly cowardly act of ****** aimed at innocent civilians, aimed at people going about their lives who had no idea what was about to hit them,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

New York and other cities around the globe have been on high alert against ******* by extremists in vehicles. The Islamic State has been exhorting its followers to mow down people, and England, France and Germany have seen ****** vehicle ******* in the past year or so.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called it a “lone wolf” ****** and said there was no evidence to suggest it was part of a wider plot.

City ****** Commissioner James O’Neill said a statement the driver made as he got out of the truck and the method of ****** led ****** to conclude it was a ********* act.

On Twitter, President ************ called it “another ****** by a very **** and deranged person” and declared, “NOT IN THE U.S.A.!”

While ****** did not specifically blame the Islamic State for the New York *********, ***** railed against the extremist group, tweeting, “We must not allow **** to return, or enter, our country after defeating them in the *********** and elsewhere. Enough!”

****** said Saipov rented the truck at about 2 p.m. in New Jersey, entering the bike path about an hour later on West Street a few blocks from the new ***** Trade Center, the site of the deadliest ****** ****** in U.S. history. The truck then turned at Chambers Street, hitting the school bus and injuring two adults and two children.

A paintball *** and a pellet *** were found at the scene, ****** said. At least two covered-over bodies could be seen lying on the bike path, and the front end of the truck was smashed in, as was the side of the school bus.

Tom ***, a school photographer, heard people saying there was an ******** and went down to West Street, where a woman came around the corner shouting, “He has a ***! He has a ***!”

*** said he stuck his head around the corner and saw a slender man in a blue track suit running on West Street holding a ***. He said a heavyset man was chasing him.

He said he heard five or six *****, and the man in the tracksuit fell to the ground, *** still raised in the air. He said a man came over and kicked the *** out of his hand.

NYC & Company President and CEO Fred Dixon issued the following statement in the wake of the ******: “We are deeply saddened by the terrible ****** of October 31, and are thankful and reassured by the swift actions of the NYPD and first responders.

“Our deepest sympathies are with all the ******* and their families. It is profoundly disheartening to learn of the five Argentineans and the Belgian who were among those who lost their lives, and other visitors who were ******* or affected who were simply here to experience and enjoy this incredible city.

“We condemn this senseless act of ******** here and those in other destinations around the globe. We are a strong, united and resilient community. New York City remains a safe and welcoming destination for leisure visitors and meetings delegates, and we encourage travellers to continue with their plans here and elsewhere.”