New York suspect's Muslim neighbours express their disgust: 'We have nothing to do with this guy'

Neighbours of the man suspected of having killed eight people in Lower Manhattan are outraged and disgusted by the acts of a man who many say had been seen in the area, but was otherwise not well known to the Muslim community.

Muslims living close to the Omar mosque in Paterson, New Jersey, which is located very close to the home of alleged attacker Sayfullo Saipov, said the acts of terror and violence against innocent civilians were not a facet of Islam, and were instead the product of a disturbed, criminal mind.

“They are sick people. They are not representing me, a Muslim,” Mohammed Khalil, who lives just a block from the mosque, said of jihadi terrorists. “They are criminals.”

Mr Saipov is suspected of having driven a rented pick-up truck down a bike path in Lower Manhattan, leaving a trail of smashed bikes and bodies in his path. Eight people have been confirmed dead by officials, and at least 11 others were injured in the attack.

The attacker is said to have exited his vehicle after crashing into a school bus near Chambers Street, the location of several schools which were letting out children for the Halloween evening. He then is said to have waved a pellet gun and a paintball gun in the air while pledging himself to Allah. He was shot by police.

Officials later named the suspect as Mr Saipov, and indicated that he had come to the United States in 2010, and has since lived in Florida and New Jersey. He was later said to have been residing in an apartment building just around the corner from the Omar mosque, in a multi-family red-brick apartment complex within throwing distance of the house of worship. The city of Paterson is located 25 miles to the north-west of New York.

But mosque officials say that Mr Saipov was not a member, even though he had been seen at prayer services previously.

“He is not associated with the mosque,” Ibrahim Matari, the president of the mosque, said on Wednesday, speaking through an interpreter, on a dreary day.

Others said that they had seen Mr Saipov around and that he was friendly, though not particularly outgoing.

Khalid Hinnawi, who said he frequently prayed at the mosque, said that he had seen Mr Saipov around and that they would exchange “hellos”. But, Mr Hinnawi stressed that violence was not fundamental to his community’s beliefs.

“We don’t have nothing to do with this guy,” Mr Hinnawi said. “We are American citizens. It’s not fair. It’s not fair.”

One neighbour of Mr Saipov’s, Carlos Batista, said that he had been aware of Mr Saipov since he moved to the area a year ago, but that there was nothing out of the ordinary about him. Mr Batista, who is not Muslim, said Mr Saipov generally spent time with two to three other individuals, as well as his wife and children.

At one point, when Mr Batista said he was being loud late at night with a motorcycle, Mr Saipov had been an advocate for peace when one of those two or three other individuals got heated. He had stepped in when things looked like they were going to get physical. Other than that run-in, not much else stood out or changed.

“Same old, same old, all the time,” Mr Batista said of the suspected killer’s behaviour over the past year.

The community now is grappling with the aftermath of the attack, and some say their past proximity to a man they barely knew is worrisome. They’re not sure what will happen now that they’ve been associated with such a high profile crime.

“We’re scared,” said a woman who works at the nearby Falafel Abou Reda restaurant, a spot located a block away from the mosque. “We’re scared.”