The suspect in what the Mayor of New York Bill de Blasio described as a terrorist attack, has been identified by US media as Sayfullo Saipov.

At a press conference at New York Police Department headquarters, police said the man suspected of carrying out the attack that left eight and at least 11 injured, was a 29-year-old who was not from the city.

New York Police Commissioner James O’Neil said the comments made by the man as he exited the truck - witnesses said he said “Allahu Akbar” - led them to believe the incident was a terror attack.

Officials declined to identify the suspect, but a number of US media outlets, including ABC News, CBS and the Wall Street Journal, named the suspect as Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov.

New York Truck attack Show all 6 1 /6 New York Truck attack New York Truck attack Investigators inspect the truck following the attack Investigators inspect a truck following a shooting incident in New York on 31 October 2017. Several people were killed and numerous others injured in New York on Tuesday when a suspect plowed a vehicle into a bike and pedestrian path in Lower Manhattan, and struck another vehicle on Halloween, police said. A suspect exited the vehicle holding up fake guns, before being shot by police and taken into custody, officers said. The motive was not immediately apparent. Getty New York Truck attack A paramedic looks at a body along the bike path A paramedic looks at a body covered under a white sheet along the bike path 31 October 2017, in New York. A motorist drove onto a busy bicycle path near the World Trade Center memorial and struck several people Tuesday, police and witnesses said. AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews New York Truck attack The truck driver collided with a school bus Authorities respond near a damaged school bus Tuesday, 31 October 2017, in New York. A motorist drove onto a busy bicycle path near the World Trade Center memorial and struck several people, police and witnesses said. Two adults and two children were on the bus at the time. AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews New York Truck attack A young girl reacts to the scene A young girl reacts as police officers secure an area following a shooting incident in New York on 31 October 2017. Several people were killed and numerous others injured in New York on Tuesday after a vehicle plowed into a pedestrian and bike path in Lower Manhattan, police said. 'The vehicle struck multiple people on the path,' police tweeted. 'The vehicle continued south striking another vehicle. The suspect exited the vehicle displaying imitation firearms & was shot by NYPD.' DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images New York Truck attack Police officers arrive at the scene Police officers arrive at the scene following a shooting incident in New York on 31 October 2017. Multiple people were hurt in downtown Manhattan, US media reported after police confirmed that they were responding to reports of a shooting. Police said they had mobilized to the scene in Lower Manhattan and that one person was in custody, giving no further details. DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images New York Truck attack Emergency personnel respond to truck attack in lower Manhattan Emergency personal respond after reports of multiple people hit by a truck after it plowed through a bike path in lower Manhattan on 31 October 2017 in New York City. According to reports up to six people may have been killed. Kena Betancur/Getty Images

Reports said he had been living in Tampa, Florida, and may originally have been from Uzbekistan. New York police declined to confirm the identity of the suspect when contacted by The Independent.

Public records show a man with such a name and age living in Tampa, and have previously lived at Fort Myers, Florida, and at two addresses in Ohio.

CNN said he came to the country in 2010. When a reporter said they asked about the possible Florida link, officials declined to comment.

Reuters quoted a a spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security called the incident an “apparent act of terrorism”.

(Reuters (Reuters)

Governor Andrew Cuomo said the suspect appeared to have acted alone.

“There’s no evidence to suggest a wider plot or a wider scheme. These are the actions of one individual meant to cause pain and harm and probably death,” he said.

After the attack, mangled and flattened bicycles littered the bike path, which runs parallel to the West Side Highway on the western edge of Manhattan along the Hudson River, according to the news agency.

Police attend incident in New York after reports of shooting and van hitting pedestrians

Of the eight people killed, six were pronounced dead at the scene and two more were pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, according to New York Police Commissioner James O’Neill.

Similar attacks in Europe last year killed dozens of people.

On July 14, 2016, a suspect drove a large truck into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in the French city of Nice, killing 86 people and injuring hundreds more in an attack for which Isis claimed responsibility.