Officials Give Update On Times Square Crash

STANDSTILL.
TRAFFIC HAS NOT MOVED IN THE
LAST 90 MINUTES OR SO, BUT YOU
CAN SEE AGAIN THE SUSPECT BEING
TAKEN INTO CUSTODY.
MAYOR DE BLASIO NOW ON THE
SCENE AND IS COMING TO THE
PODIUM.
LET'S LISTEN IN FROM THE MAYOR
TO SEE IF WE CAN GET SOME MORE
ANSWERS AS TO WHAT TRANSPIRED
IN TIMES SQUARE TODAY.
OKAY, READY?
OKAY.
I WANT TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE.
WE HAD A VERY SERIOUS INCIDENT
TODAY.
WE ARE GOING TO PROVIDE YOU
WITH INFORMATION.
I WANT TO EMPHASIZE ON --
UPFRONT THIS IS PRELIMINARY.
THERE IS AN INVESTIGATION
UNDERWAY AND A LOT OF WE WILL
LEARN IN THE COMING HOURS BUT
WE'RE GOING TO GIVE YOU THE
INFORMATION WE HAVE AT THIS
POINT.
I WILL START, AND THEN YOU'LL
HEAR FROM OUR POLICE
COMMISSIONER JAMES O
OUR COMMISSIONER JAN NIEKRO.
SO FAR, 23 INDIVIDUALS WERE
INJURED IN THIS INCIDENT.
THAT INCLUDES, TRAGICALLY, ONE
YOUNG WOMAN WHO HAS PASSED
AWAY.
THE PERPETRATOR IS IN CUSTODY.
HIS -- HE IS A UNITED STATES
CITIZEN AND A FORMER MEMBER OF
THE ARMED FORCES WITH THE
UNITED STATES NAVY.
HE HAS A CRIMINAL HISTORY.
THE COMMISSIONER WILL GO OVER
THAT IN A MOMENT.
BASED ON THE INFORMATION WE
HAVE AT THIS MOMENT, THERE IS
NO INDICATION THAT THIS WAS AN
ACT OF TERRORISM.
I WANTED TO CLARIFY AGAIN.
BASED ON THE INFORMATION THAT
WE HAVE AT THIS MOMENT, THERE
IS NO INDICATION THAT THIS WAS
AN ACT OF TERRORISM.
THAT BEING SAID, WE ARE
REINFORCING KEY LOCATIONS AROUND
THE CITY WITH OUR ANTI-TERROR
UNITS OF THE NYPD.
OUT OF AN ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION,
MAJOR SITES IN THE CITY WILL
GET ADDITIONAL POLICE COVERAGE
FROM OUR ANTI-TERROR UNITS.
WE ALL FEEL DEEPLY RIGHT NOW
FOR THOSE WHO WERE INJURED AND
FOR THEIR FAMILIES AND
PARTICULARLY FOR THE FAMILY OF
THE YOUNG WOMAN WHO WAS LOST.
OUR PRAYERS ARE WITH HER FAMILY
AND WITH ALL THOSE WHO RIGHT
NOW ARE SUFFERING BECAUSE OF
THIS HORRIBLE INCIDENT.
I WANT TO THANK ALL OF OUR
FIRST RESPONDERS.
THE PERPETRATOR WAS APPREHENDED
VERY QUICKLY.
I WANT TO THANK ALL THE FIRST
RESPONDERS WHO IMMEDIATELY CAME
TO THE SCENE TO AID THE ONE YOU
WILL GET AN UPDATE ON THE
STATUS OF THOSE WHO WERE
AFFECTED FROM THE FIRE
COMMISSIONER.
THIS WAS A TOUGH DAY FOR NEW
YORK CITY.
BUT AS USUAL, THE PEOPLE OF NEW
YORK CITY WILL STAND FIRM, WILL
BE RESILIENT, AND WE HAVE
TREMENDOUS FAITH IN OUR FIRST
RESPONDERS WHO HANDLE THIS
SITUATION -- HANDLED THIS
SITUATION SO QUICKLY.
WE WILL PROVIDE MORE UPDATES AS
INFORMATION EMERGES.
I WILL PRESENT HOWARD
COMMISSIONER CHIEF JAMES O
.
NO PROBLEM.
WE WILL GET IT BACK.
SO, AS THE MAYOR SAID, THIS IS
PRELIMINARY INFORMATION.
THIS INCIDENT HAPPENED ABOUT AN
HOUR AND A HALF AGO.
WE TALK ABOUT IT EVERY PRESS
CONFERENCE.
WE TRY TO GET AS MUCH
INFORMATION OUT TO YOU AS SOON
AS POSSIBLE.
AT APPROXIMATELY 11:55 AM, A
2009 HONDA ACCORD PASSENGER
VEHICLE MOUNTED THE SIDEWALK ON
7th AVENUE AND WEST 42nd STREET
IN TIMES SQUARE.
THE VEHICLE, OCCUPIED BY A MALE
DRIVER PROCEEDED TO DRIVE AT A
HIGH RATE OF SPEED ALONG THE
SIDEWALK FROM 42nd STREET TO
45th STREET STRIKING A NUMBER
OF PEDESTRIANS ON THE WAY.
THE HONDA EVENTUALLY CAME TO A
STOP ON THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF
WEST 45th STREET, WHERE IT
COLLIDED WITH A METAL STATUE.
ALONG THE ROUTE, THE SUBJECT'S
VEHICLE STRUCK 23 PEDESTRIANS
CAUSING MULTIPLE INJURIES AND
ONE FATALITY.
22 VICTIMS WERE REMOVED TO
LOCAL HOSPITALS.
THE DRIVER, A 26-YEAR-OLD MALE,
IDENTIFIED AS RICHARD ROJAS, A
RESIDENT OF THE BRONX WAS TAKEN
INTO CUSTODY AT THE SCENE.
PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION
REVEALS THAT ROJAS HAS A FEW
ARRESTS AND TWO ARE FOR DWI.
DETECTIVES ARE CURRENTLY
REVIEWING ANY OTHER CRIMINAL
HISTORY FOR THE CHILD -- FOR
THE SUBJECT.
FURTHER INVESTIGATION IS ONGOING
. AT THIS POINT DOES THE MAYOR
SAID, THERE IS NO INDICATION
THAT THIS INCIDENT WAS
TERRORISM RELATED.
COMMISSIONER NIEKRO WILL TALK
ABOUT THE INJURIES.
I WILL TALK ABOUT THE
INJURIES IN GENERAL TERMS.
WE ARE NOT GOING TO TALK NAMES
OR SPECIFIC INJURIES.
WE DID HAVE ONE PERSON WHO WAS
PRONOUNCED AT THE SCENE.
THERE WERE FOUR CRITICAL
PATIENTS REMOVED, TWO TOVELO --
BELLEVUE AND TWO TO ROSEVILLE.
MULTIPLE TRAUMAS, AND MULTIPLE
FRACTURES.
NONE OF THOSE AT THIS POINT
THANKS TO THE FACT THAT THEY
WERE QUICKLY TRANSPORTED TO
THIS HOSPITAL IS LIKELY BUT
THAT DOES NOT MEAN THEY ARE
CLEAR.
AND NONE OF THOSE FOUR ARE
RIGHT NOW LIKELY TO PERISH.
OF CONDITIONS CAN CHANGE BUT WE
ARE HOPEFUL THAT THEY WERE
TREATED AND REMOVED QUICKLY,
THAT THEY WILL SURVIVE.
THREE OTHER INJURIES WERE VERY
SERIOUS BUT NOT CRITICAL.
THEY WERE ALSO REMOVED TO LOCAL
HOSPITALS.
15 ARE LESS SERIOUS INJURIES.
WE CALL THEM GREEN TAG
INJURIES.
ALL OF THESE PEOPLE HAVE NOW
BEEN TRANSPORTED TO THE
HOSPITALS AND ARE BEING
TREATED.
ALL THREE NAMES, AGES, OR WHERE
THEY COME FROM RIGHT NOW, THE
-- THERE WAS A LARGE NUMBER OF
RESOURCES ARRIVING HERE QUICKLY
AND THANKS TO THAT, PEOPLE
RECEIVED CARE IN A TIMELY
FASHION.
LET'S TAKE QUESTIONS.
IN THE BACK?
THERE WERE A NUMBER OF
PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THE
APPREHENSION.
THERE WERE SOME CIVILIANS
INVOLVED BUT NEW YORK CITY
POLICE WERE ALSO INVOLVED IN
THE APPREHENSION.
AS YOU KNOW, BEING FROM NEW
YORK, WE HAVE A TREMENDOUS
AMOUNT OF POLICE COVERAGE IN
TIMES SQUARE.
RIGHT ON THE CORNER OF 43rd AND
SEVENTH, WE HAD SOME POLICE
OFFICERS.
HOLD ON.
ONE AT A TIME.
[ INDISCERNIBLE -- LOW
VOLUME ]
YOU HAVE GOT TO SPEAK UP.
[ INDISCERNIBLE -- LOW
VOLUME ]
THE VEHICLE AT THIS TIME, WE
DO NOT THINK IT WAS BEING
PURSUED BY A POLICE VEHICLE.
YOU SAY THIS WAS NOT AN ACT
OF TERRORISM BUT THIS IS THE
KIND OF INCIDENT WE HAVE SEEN
BEFORE.
ARE THERE THINGS THAT SHOULD BE
DONE IN TIMES SQUARE TO PREVENT
THIS?
DAVID, AS YOU KNOW, THE NYPD
CONSTANTLY REASSESSES SECURITY
THROUGHOUT THE CITY AND AFTER
AN INCIDENT LIKE THIS, WE WILL
DO THAT ALSO.
I JUST WANT TO ADD THERE HAS
BEEN A VERY SUBSTANTIAL
INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF
POLICE OFFICERS WHO PATROL
TIMES SQUARE IN THE LAST FEW
YEARS HAS PART OF OUR CREATION
OF A GREATER ANTI-TERROR FORCE
AND CREDIBLE RESPONSE PROGRAM.
AS THE COMMISSIONER SAID, WE
WILL CONTINUE TO UPDATE THOSE
MEASURES AS EACH SITUATION
WARRANTS.
[ INDISCERNIBLE -- LOW
VOLUME ]
RIGHT BETWEEN 42 AND 43 ON
7th.
I AM NOT SURE ABOUT THAT.
I CAN'T GIVE YOU THAT.
WE ARE NOT READY TO DO THAT YET.
WOW -- [ INDISCERNIBLE --
LOW VOLUME ]
HE IS BEING TESTED AS WE
SPEAK AND HE IS BEING
INTERVIEWED BY THE NEW YORK
CITY POLICE DETECTIVES AS WELL.
[ INDISCERNIBLE -- LOW
VOLUME ] I CAN'T SAY THAT
WITH ANY DEGREE OF CERTAINTY
RIGHT NOW. [ INDISCERNIBLE --
LOW VOLUME ]
YOU HAVE TO SPEAK UP.
[ INDISCERNIBLE -- LOW
VOLUME ]
YEAH, IT LOOKS LIKE THAT IS
WHERE HE MOUNTED THE SIDEWALK,
42 AND 7. YES?
[ INDISCERNIBLE -- LOW
VOLUME ]
WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF
REVIEWING ALL OF THE VIDEO
RIGHT NOW.
[ INDISCERNIBLE -- LOW
VOLUME ]
WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF
INTERVIEWING RIGHT NOW.
THIS ONLY HAPPENED AN HOUR AND
A HALF AGO. [ INDISCERNIBLE
-- LOW VOLUME ]
OF COURSE, THE WORST WENT
THROUGH MY MIND.
THAT IS WHY THE MAYOR AND I
CAME AS QUICKLY AS WE COULD.
I SPOKE TO CHIEF ARBOR, THE
DETECTIVE CHIEF IN MANHATTAN
SOUTH AND WE QUICKLY DETERMINED
THAT AT THIS TIME, IT DOES NOT
APPEAR TO BE TERRORIST RELATED.
AND MARCIA, SAME THING.
EXACTLY.
WE KNOW THE TIMES WE'RE LIVING
IN AND WE NOTICE A DANGEROUS
MOMENT IN HISTORY.
I ALSO HAVE THE SECOND I HEARD
IT WAS TIMES SQUARE, I KNEW
THERE WAS A TREMENDOUS POLICE
PRESENCE.
BUT AS WE HAVE LEARNED MORE,
THIS WAS TERROR.
GO AHEAD. [ INDISCERNIBLE --
LOW VOLUME ]
AGAIN, I THINK THAT IS A
DIFFERENT DISCUSSION THEM A
CRISIS WE ARE TALKING ABOUT
RIGHT NOW.
WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THIS RIGHT
NOW.
GO AHEAD.
[ INDISCERNIBLE -- LOW
VOLUME ]
LOOK, MY RESPONSE IS THE
SAME AS IT HAS BEEN ANY TIME
THERE HAS BEEN AN INCIDENT
ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.
WE CONTINUE TO GO ABOUT OUR
LIVES AS NEW YORKERS.
THANK GOD BASED ON WHAT WE KNOW
NOW, THERE IS NO INDICATION
THAT THIS WAS AN ACT OF TERROR.
BUT FOR ANYONE WHO IS
CONCERNED, MY MESSAGE IS THE
SAME.
THIS IS THE SAFEST BIG CITY IN
AMERICA.
36,000 POLICE OFFICERS
PROTECTING PEOPLE, EVEN WHEN
SOME INCIDENTS OCCUR, IT SHOULD
NOT CHANGE PEOPLE'S FUNDAMENTAL
KNOWLEDGE THAT THEY ARE SAFE IN
THE NYPD PROTECTS THEM.
BEFORE I TAKE ANY MORE
QUESTIONS, I'M GOING TO LET
CHIEF ARBOR WALK THROUGH THE
CHRONOLOGY.
I JUST WANT TO REITERATE
DOES THE MAYOR AND THE POLICE
COMMISSIONER SAID, THERE IS NO
INDICATION AT THIS POINT THAT
THIS HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH
TERRORISM.
I AM GOING TO TAKE YOU THROUGH
THE FACT THAT WE KNOW AN HOUR
AND A HALF INTO THIS INCIDENT.
11:54 AM, MR. RICHARD ROJAS, A
26-YEAR-OLD MALE, IS TRAVELING
SOUTHBOUND ON SEVENTH -- 7th
AVENUE.
AS HE APPROACHES 42nd, HE MAKES
A QUICK U-TURN ONTO THE
WESTSIDE STREET -- SIDEWALK OH
SEVENTH AVENUE AND 42nd STREET.
HE PROCEEDS ON THAT WESTSIDE
SIDEWALK FOR 3 1/2 BLOCKS,
WHERE HE HITS A STATUE.
BETWEEN 42nd AND 43rd STREET,
THERE IS AN 18-YEAR-OLD FEMALE
THAT WAS STRUCK AND SHE IS NOW
DEAD.
HER 13-YEAR-OLD SISTER WAS ALSO
STRUCK AND SHE IS BEING TREATED
IN A HOSPITAL.
UPWARDS OF OVER 20 OTHER PEOPLE
WERE INJURED BETWEEN 42nd
STREET AND 45th STREET ON THAT
WESTSIDE SIDEWALK.
WHEN HE HITS THE EXPANSION ON
THE WESTSIDE SIDEWALK, THERE IS
A TRAFFIC AGENT SENTENCE OF
TACKLING HIM.
THAT IS TRAFFIC AGENT ALFAKI
ALAMAGGIO.
THEY GET HIM IN A PATROL CAR,
BRING HIM BACK TO MIDTOWN SOUTH.
HE MAKES CERTAIN STATEMENTS,
WHICH I'M NOT GETTING INTO.
CURRENTLY, HE IS BEING
TRANSPORTED TO A TESTING
FACILITY WHERE HIGHWAY WERE TEST
-- WILL TEST HIM FOR DRUGS AND
ALCOHOL.
AS THE COMMISSIONER SAID, HE
HAS A PREVIOUS ARREST HISTORY.
IN 2008, HE WAS ARRESTED IN
QUEENS FOR DRINKING AND DRIVING
AND ALSO IN 2015, HE WAS
ARRESTED IN MANHATTAN FOR
DRINKING AND DRIVING.
HIS LAST RECENT ARREST WAS MADE
OF THIS YEAR, AND THAT WAS FOR
MENACING.
AND AGAIN, WE ARE WORKING WITH
A MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S
OFFICE AND WHERE WORKING WITH
WITNESSES.
WE ARE LOOKING AT VIDEO TO TRY
TO PIECE TOGETHER THE FACTS
HERE, BUT AT THIS POINT THERE
IS NO INDICATION THAT THERE IS
TERRORISM INVOLVED.
WE HAVE DETECTIVES AT HIS HOME.
WE HAVE DETECTIVES CANVASSING
VIDEO AND SPEAKING WITH
WITNESSES, AND AGAIN SO FAR, IT

Officials Give Update On Times Square Crash

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