Eight killed as truck drives into bike path, school bus in New York City terror attack.

Eight people have been killed in New York City after a rented van drove down a bike path that runs along the Hudson River in Manhattan in what authorites say was a terror attack.

“Based on the information we have at this moment, this was an act of terror and a particularly cowardly act of terror, aimed at innocent civilians, aimed, at people going about their lives who had no idea what was about to hit them” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

The New York City Police Department, in a post on Twitter, said that one vehicle struck another, then the driver of one of the vehicles “got out displaying imitation firearms.”

Police said the suspect was shot by officers and has been taken into custody.

Recent images from the attack.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says President Donald Trump has been briefed by White House chief of staff John Kelly and "will be continually updated as more details are known."

"Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected," she said.

A police spokesman posted a photo showing a white pickup truck on the bike path with its front end smashed. The truck had the logo of the Home Depot hardware store chain on its door.

An witness told ABC Channel 7 that he saw a white pick-up truck drive south down the bike path alongside the West Side Highway at full speed and hit several people. The witness, who was identified only as Eugene, said bodies were lying outside Stuyvesant High School, one of the city's elite public schools.

He also reported hearing about nine or 10 shots, but was not sure where they came from.

A man drove 20 blocks down a bike path, crashed, jumped out with fake guns and was shot by police, authorities said https://t.co/2ipdU5x7No

— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 31, 2017

A video apparently filmed at the scene and circulated online showed scattered bikes on the bike path and two people lying on the ground.

Uber driver Chen Yi said he saw a truck plough into people on a popular bike path adjacent to the West Side Highway. He said he then heard seven to eight shots and then police pointing a gun at a man kneeling on the pavement.

"I saw a lot of blood over there. A lot of people on the ground," Yi said.

His passenger, Dmitry Metlitsky, said he also saw police standing near a man who was on his knees with his hands up, and another man bleeding on the ground nearby. He said the truck had also collided with a small school bus and one other vehicle.