Investigators are still working to determine the motive behind Monday morning's mayhem after a man behind the wheel of a rented U-Haul truck plowed into multiple people on streets, bike lanes and sidewalks of two Brooklyn neighborhoods, leaving one person dead and eight injured in his wake.
The driver, a 62-year-old man now in police custody, is believed to be the lone actor in a puzzling rampage through the borough's Bay Ridge and Sunset Park neighborhoods. And although the motive remains unclear, the NYPD commissioner stated no evidence currently suggests any terrorism involvement in she called a "violent rampage."
One man, a 44-year-old, died later Monday evening, according to two law enforcement officials. Eight others were hurt, one of whom suffered critical injuries. All patients, including an NYPD officer, were taken to NYC Langone in Brooklyn.
Police tracked the start to the driver's rampage back to Bay Ridge, around 5th Avenue and Bay Ridge Parkway, before continuing north into Sunset Park. There were initial reports of the truck swerving onto sidewalks with police chasing close behind.
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Security footage captured just a fraction of the danger the driver posed to anyone on or near the road Monday morning. Video showed a person on a moped get sent spinning after being clipped by the truck.
The U-Haul truck was spotted on video driving up 4th Avenue near 55th Street and swerving without warning into the bike lane where a cyclist gets struck and plowed over, without any warning of what was about to happen. A second cyclist in front appeared to see what was unfolding and move out of the way as the truck showed no signs of slowing down. Video showed the driver try to run over other bicyclists, but was unable to, then sped away on 4th Avenue.
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In another video, a person on the sidewalk jumps out of the way, narrowly missing the full impact of the truck as it speeds down the path with a police cruiser in close pursuit.
Here's a timeline of Monday's events, according to NYPD, before the suspect was finally stopped and arrested:
- 10:17 a.m.: Driver of the U-Haul truck hits a 36-year-old man near 4th Avenue and 55th Street in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The victim injured his leg, was said to be in stable condition at hospital
- 10:29 a.m.: A 34-year-old man was struck near 5th Avenue and Senator Street in Bay Ridge, suffering injuries to his chest. He was taken to the hospital, and is expected to be OK.
- 10:31 a.m.: A 30-year-old man was hit near Bay Ridge Parkway and 7th Avenue. Police said he suffered leg injuries and is expected to recover.
- 10:36 a.m.: The truck struck a 51-year-old man near Bay Ridge Parkway and 12th Avenue, causing him to suffer head injuries. He was taken to the hospital, where police said he was recovering.
- 10:48 a.m.: A 44-year-old man suffered critical injuries to his head after being struck near Bay Ridge Parkway and 5th Avenue. He later died at the hospital.
- 10:50 a.m.: Another man was struck near Bay Ridge Parkway and 7th Avenue. The 38-year-old was taken to the hospital with ankle injuries.
- 11:05 a.m.: A 33-year-old police officer and a 32-year-old man were struck near 72nd Street and 3rd Avenue in Bay Ridge. The officer suffered leg injuries while the other man hurt his head and chest, but both were expected to recover.
- 11:05 a.m.: Just a block away, at 73rd Street and 3rd Avenue, the oldest victim, a 66-year-old man, was struck. He is expected to be OK after injuring his neck and knee.
By 11:30 a.m., the NYPD had the truck bearing Arizona license plates and its driver surrounded on a corner between Red Hook and Carroll Gardens. The driver was taken into custody without incident.
The truck, stopped against a police cruiser on the sidewalk, was searched and cleared of any possible explosives. That stop was part of seven different scenes across Brooklyn that was sorted through for evidence, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said Monday afternoon.
Senior law enforcement officials identified the driver as 62-year-old Weng Sor. He had returned to the area after renting the truck from Daytona Beach on Jan. 23 and presumably driving it across county. According to a senior law enforcement official, Sor was arrested earlier this month in South Carolina for reckless driving and released on bail. He may have been living out of the truck.
At the time of his arrest, Sor allegedly told arresting officers he wanted to die. A senior law enforcement official told News 4 that Sor said in a statement that he "only ran over bad people — not good people." The official added that Sor has not been taking medication he should have been on.
The suspect driver was back in Brooklyn trying to visit with estranged family but continued to suffer from existing mental health concerns. An official said police were called back in 2019 after Sor was allegedly screaming and acting erratically in the street.
Sources told NBC New York that Sor's family said he has emotional troubles and has spent time behind bars, but has never been a religious extremist or radical. Two officials said that the Brooklyn district attorney's office will handle the prosecution, as Sor faces potential attempted murder charges.
Weng Sor's son, Stephen Sor, 30, told the Associated Press that his father had a history of mental illness and, until recently, was living in Las Vegas, where records show he's been convicted and served time for multiple acts of violence, including stabbing his own brother.
“Very frequently he’ll choose to skip out on his medications and do something like this," Stephen Sor said in an interview outside his Brooklyn home. "This isn’t the first time he’s been arrested. It’s not the first time he’s gone to jail.”
Stephen Sor said he was surprised when Weng Sor showed up in Brooklyn in the middle of the night about a week ago. He said they didn't speak often and described their relationship as “rocky.”
“I try to just distance, as long as he leaves us alone," Stephen Sor said.
In 2015, Weng Sor stabbed his brother in Las Vegas and served about 17 months in a Nevada prison, according to court and prison records. In 2020, he stabbed someone in the arm and chest with a knife and was sentenced to 364 days in county jail, with about 10 months of time already served.
Before pleading guilty in that case, Sor underwent several months of evaluations at state psychiatric facilities until he was found competent to face charges, court records show. The records don’t list a possible diagnosis, but note that Sor was placed on medications.
In an earlier Nevada case, Sor was ordered to undergo counseling and perform community service after pleading guilty to misdemeanor battery in 2005. The judge noted at the time that Sor was moving to New York and ordered him to submit to a mental health evaluation once there.
The truck was towed away from the crime scene hours later. U-Haul spokesperson Jeff Lockridge said that Sor had provided a valid driver’s license and paid for a 30-day rental in advance. U-Haul had no record of Sor previously renting from the company, Lockridge said.
While investigators work to determine a possible motive behind the vehicular assaults, the mayor's office issued a statement to assure the public there were no additional credible threats following the driver's arrest.
"We have no idea of motives at this time but this wasn't an accident," Councilman Justin Brannan, who represents Red Hook, tweeted.
Gov. Kathy Hochul tweeted as well, saying she was briefed on the unfolding situation and would be coordinating with the NYPD as needed.
The destruction shattered the late-morning routine and immediately evoked memories of other vehicle assaults on bikers and pedestrians in the crowded city, including a terrorist’s deadly 2017 attack that killed eight people on a Manhattan bike path and a disturbed motorist’s rampage through Times Square the same year that killed one and injured 20.
A jury met on Monday to consider whether Saipov should get a death sentence; the two incidents are not believed to be linked.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
