Trump Orders ‘Extreme’ Immigrant Vetting After Uzbek Suspect Detained In New York Attack

U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered more “extreme vetting” of immigrants after police detained an Uzbek national as a suspect in what they called a “terrorist attack” that killed eight people in New York City on October 31.

It was the first such deadly attack in New York since the September 11, 2001, attacks, and the first time the United States has been struck with a vehicular attack like those that have occurred recently in Europe.

“I have just ordered Homeland Security to step up our already Extreme Vetting Program. Being politically correct is fine, but not for this!” Trump tweeted after declaring earlier that the attack was perpetrated by “a very sick and deranged person.”

New York police said the suspect, who police shot and detained at the scene, used a rented van to mow down pedestrians and cyclists on a bike path near where the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center once stood.

Multiple media reports have cited police sources in identifying the suspect as a 29-year-old Uzbek national named Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov, who came to the United States in 2010.

Witnesses said Saipov shouted out “Allahu akbar” or “God is great” as he rampaged through the streets after crashing a rented van into the pedestrians and a school bus.