A 29-year-old man drove a rental truck down a bike path in lower Manhattan, killing eight people and injuring more than a dozen before being shot by police officers, in an incident that New York City mayor Bill de Blasio described as an “act of terror”.

The suspected driver was identified as Sayfullo Saipov. Police said that the truck with a Home Depot logo on the side had entered a bike and jogging path that skirts the financial district, a few blocks north of Chambers Street, at 3.05pm local time, striking multiple people.

The vehicle continued south until hitting a school bus, after which the driver exited, armed with a paintball gun and a pellet gun. The driver shouted “God is great” in Arabic, police said, and was then shot in the abdomen and taken to hospital.