| Officer Ryan Nash, 28, a five-year veteran, opened fire after Sayfullo Saipov ignored commands to surrender, hitting him in the abdomen. (JOHNNY MILANO/NEWSDAY) |
The city’s top cop said the officer who took down a madman hell-bent on terror could not be more humble.
Officer Ryan Nash, along with fellow cops John Hasiotis, Michael Welsome and Kevin McGinn, were credited Wednesday with apprehending Sayfullo Saipov, a 29-year-old suspected of killing eight people and wounding 13 others before being shot by Nash.
"In the typical fashion of an NYPD cop he thinks what he did was not an act of heroism,” Police Commissioner James O’Neill said. “He thinks it's why he joined the Police Department."
O’Neill spoke with Nash at Bellevue Hospital, where he was treated for ringing in his ears.
After Saipov crashed his rented truck into a school bus, he emerged shouting “Allahu Akbar” and waving guns that were later determined to be a pellet gun and a paintball gun.
Nash, 28, a five-year veteran, opened fire after Saipov ignored commands to surrender, hitting him in the abdomen.
(l. to r.) Gov. Cuomo, NYPD top cop O'Neill, Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence & Counter-terrorism John Miller, and Mayor de Blasio. (CRAIG RUTTLE/AP)
Hasiotis secured the scene and identified key witnesses, police union head Patrick Lynch said. Welsome and McGinn secured Saipov’s weapons, he said.
"While we mourn the terrible loss of life and the injuries to innocent people we are proud of, and grateful for, the quick action of a team of police officers who responded to cries for help and took charge of a chaotic and dangerous situation,” Lynch said.
O’Neill said Nash and his partner were inside Stuyvesant High School when someone came in and said there was a vehicle accident.
"Once they got outside they were confronted and they took proper action,” O’Neill said.
View Daily News gallery of terrorist attack
“So all New Yorkers should be thankful to Ryan and his partner. They showed great courage.”
Mayor de Blasio also heaped on praise.
"Ryan is a hero but he was so humble about his achievement, it was very striking,” the mayor said.
“He thought this was all in a day's work and what a cop does to protect other people, but he deserves the accolades of the people in this city, as does his partner.”
After Saipov crashed his rented truck into a school bus, he emerged shouting “Allahu Akbar” and waving guns that were later determined to be a pellet gun and a paintball gun. (JAMES KEIVOM/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)
He added, “In that situation you don't know if the shooter has multiple weapons, has a bomb on him. Literally, dozens of more lives could have been in danger. Ryan stopped that threat immediately.”
Former Police Commissioner Bill Bratton also joined the chorus of compliments, posting on Twitter, “Thank you for your bravery & quick action in stopping yesterday's terrorist attack. Truly one of New York's Finest.”