A terrorist attack in New York City’s Lower Manhattan killed eight people on Tuesday, injuring scores more. Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov of Uzbekistan is said to be the man behind the truck attack that also left five Argentinians dead.
In speaking up about the attack on Wednesday, fellow Argentian Manu Ginobili had a whole heck of a lot to say.
“I don’t know any of (the victims from Argentina), but you don’t have to know them,” Ginobili said, via San Antonio Express News. “They were Argentinians, the same way they could have been French or from Madagascar or Australia. It’s just very unfortunate. You go with friends for a walk, for a trip, to have fun, to enjoy the city and something like that happens. It’s just dumbfounding.”
The five headed to New York City to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their high school graduation. In a deplorable act of terrorism, Saipov ran the victims down in a truck that he had rented in New Jersey before being apprehended by first responders.
For Ginobili, who has played in the United States since two years after the 9/11 attacks, this hit home big time. Though, he’s not centrally focused on the one attack.
“You go to a concert and bullets start to drop from the sky,” Ginobili said about the Las Vegas shooting back in October that killed 59 people . “It’s just very hard to swallow and I can’t imagine the pain their families are going through. It’s very hard to understand. There is nothing to understand. It’s painful.”
Ginobili’s home country of Argentina has seen its fair share of mass casualty events and terrorism in recent years. But nothing at the level we’ve seen in the United States this year alone. It’s always interesting to hear what individuals not from this nation have to say about what’s happening.
For Ginobili, the loss of five fellow countrymen definitely hit home big time. And he wasn’t afraid to share his thoughts.