Who Is Sayfullo Saipov? From Truck Driver to Uber Driver to Terror Suspect

Link to the Trail of Terror in the Manhattan Truck Attack: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/10/31/nyregion/manhattan-truck-attack.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=b-lede-package-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

Story by NY Times
Written by Corey Kilgannon and Joseph Goldstein

Sayfullo Saipov’s arrival in the United States in 2010 began unceremoniously in Ohio.

“My dad introduced him as, ‘He’s new to the United States, and he’s going to stay with us,’ ” said Bekhzod Abdusamatov, 22.

Mr. Saipov, the suspect in the terrorist attack in Lower Manhattan that killed eight people on Tuesday, arrived from Tashkent — the Uzbek capital and its largest city — knowing little English, Mr. Abdusamatov said.

Photo of Sayfullo Saipov (Credit: St. Charles County Department of Corrections)

He spent those early days in the United States looking for a job and trying to improve his English, Mr. Abdusamatov said. But he was also a late sleeper.

At one point, Mr. Saipov made his way to Fort Myers, Fla., where he met a fellow Uzbek immigrant, Kobiljon Matkarov, 37. Mr. Saipov was working as a truck driver at the time.

“He was a very good person when I knew him,” he said. “He liked the U.S. He seemed very lucky, and all the time he was happy and talking like everything is O.K. He did not seem like a terrorist, but I did not know him from the inside.”

As investigators began on Tuesday to look into Mr. Saipov’s history, it became clear that he had been on the radar of federal authorities. Three officials said he had come to their attention as a result of an unrelated investigation, but it was not clear whether that was because he was a friend, an associate or a family member of someone under scrutiny or because he had been the focus of an investigation.



Over the last two years, a terrorism investigation by the F.B.I., the Department of Homeland Security, the New York Police Department and federal prosecutors in Brooklyn resulted in charges against five men from Uzbekistan and one from Kazakhstan of providing material support to ISIS. Several of the men have pleaded guilty. It is unclear whether Mr. Saipov was connected with that investigation.

After a move to New Jersey, Mr. Saipov eventually settled in Paterson and began driving for Uber. On Tuesday night, law enforcement officials converged on an apartment building near Genessee and Getty Avenues that was believed to be Mr. Saipov’s home.

Mr. Saipov had earned a green card, according to a law enforcement official who spoke under the condition of anonymity because the investigation was proceeding, and had entered the country through Kennedy International Airport.

An Uber official said Mr. Saipov had passed the company’s background check.

“We have been in contact with the F.B.I. and have offered our assistance,” the official said. “We will remain in close contact with law enforcement and the F.B.I. to assist with their investigation.

“We are aggressively and quickly reviewing this partner’s history with Uber, and at this time we have not identified any related concerning safety reports.”