Several dead after Manhattan truck attack

A motorist who drove onto a cycle path in New York's Manhattan district has killed at least eight people and injured at least 12 others, police officials have reported.

The driver, who was carrying imitation firearms, was shot in the stomach by nearby police officers, who disarmed the as-yet-unidentified man and arrested him.

"Based on the information that we have at this moment this was an act of terror, a particularly cowardly act of terror," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters after visiting the scene near the World Trade Center.

The 29-year-old driver had a paintball gun and a pellet gun, said police. No other suspects were are being sought.

He was driving a rented Home Depot truck when he hit pedestrians and cyclists shortly after 3pm local time, before colliding with a school bus. 

There was "no evidence to suggest a wider plot, a wider scheme," Governor Andrew Cuomo told reporters.