What to Know
- Martin Marro was one of 11 injured in Tuesday's attack in lower Manhattan that also killed 8.
- Marro, a Argentinian native living in Newton, Mass., was in NY for a reunion with high school classmates; 5 of them were killed
- The suspect has been identified as 29-year-old Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov; authorities say he left a note claiming he did it for ISIS
A Massachusetts man wounded in the rampage attack in New York City on Tuesday is recovering from his injuries.
Martin Marro, an Argentine native who lives in Newton, was among those injured in the attack, City Councilor James Cote confirmed to NBC Boston.
Marro is in a New York hospital ICU with non-life-threatening injuries and his wife Mariana is with him.
Several of Marro's high school classmates from Argentina came to the U.S. to visit him and celebrate the 30th anniversary of their graduation. Five of them died in the attack.
Marro has not been informed that his classmates are dead, according to the Argentine Consul General.
"They're very quiet and peaceful people and they don't get involved in a lot of things," Cote said.
U.S. & World
Marro works as a biomedical researcher at Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research in Cambridge.
"With sadness, we can confirm that one of our scientists was injured in the attack in lower Manhattan last night," read a statement from Novartis. "Our thoughts are with him, his family and others affected by this tragedy."
Marro and his wife have two school-aged children.
Just last week, Marro hosted a fundraiser for Cote that was attended by Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker. Photos of Marro and his wife posing with Baker were posted to Facebook.
"Last week the governor was at his house for my event and this week he's in a terrorist attack in New York. It's a very private family," said Cote.
Tom Mountain, a friend of Marro, said he is "one of the nicest guys you'd ever want to meet."
Marro was one of 12 people injured when 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov drove a Home Depot truck into pedestrians and bicyclists before crashing into a school bus in Manhattan, according to authorities. Eight people were killed.
Witnesses told police they saw the driver swerve to target the bus, which was carrying children. He allegedly screamed "Allahu Akbar" after the crash, then emerged from the truck carrying what turned out to be a pellet gun and a paintball gun.
While friends are still in disbelief about what happen, they point to security efforts with the annual running of the Boston Marathon.
"Our police are well trained. They're up with what's going on. But these random people that show up and do it — what can you do," said Cote.
Newton Police Lt. Bruce Apotheker said local law enforcement will step up patrols in the wake of recent incidents while also trying to further educate their officers.
"We always try to anticipate the next one, but we learn from the past events. So for example, whether it's the marathon or parades, what we try to do is because of the vehicle attacks in Europe and now in New York, large vehicles — we try to get jersey barriers or block off areas where cars come on to the route," he said.
