The five-year NYPD veteran who shot Sayfullo Saipov addressed the media on Wednesday afternoon, one day after Saipov drove his truck down the bike path by the West Side Highway, killing eight people and injuring 12 others.
Officer Ryan Nash said, "I appreciate the public recognition of the actions of myself and my fellow officers yesterday. Although I feel that we were just doing our job like thousands of officers do every day, I understand the importance of yesterday's events and the role we played... I'm grateful for the recognition we have received."
Nash and three other officers were responding to a call about a suicidal student at Stuyvesant High School when Saipov allegedly drove a rented Home Depot truck down the Hudson River Greenway bike path, barreling into bicyclists and pedestrians before crashing into a school bus. Saipov then left the truck and was running with what looked like firearms in his hands (they were actually a paintball gun and a pellet gun).
When the officers rushed out of the school, Nash, who was closest, fired at Saipov nine times, and Saipov was hit once in the stomach.
Nash, who works out of the 1st Precinct, was treated for tinnitus, which is standard protocol whenever an officer discharges a firearm. He has been hailed as a hero by many; Mayor de Blasio praised him, saying, "He is a good young man. He was very humble about what he did, but what he did was extraordinary. And it gave people such faith and such appreciation in our police force."
"I just want to thank my family and friends for their support and all the responding officers who assisted me," Nash said. "However, due to the nature of the pending criminal case, I cannot make any further public statements about the incident at this time."
The victims of the attack included a New Yorker, a NJ resident, five Argentine tourists and a tourist from Belgium. Federal prosecutors, who charged the suspect with providing material support and resources to a "designated foreign terrorist organization" as well as violence and destruction of motor vehicles, say that Saipov wanted to continue his destruction by driving to Brooklyn Bridge and killing more pedestrians.