A Bay Ridge vigil on Monday honored the victims of last week's U-Haul attack, including 44-year-old YiJie Ye, a father who died after being struck by the truck.
"This may not have been a coordinated act of terrorism. But what happened a week ago, not too far from here where we're standing right now — just a couple of feet from here — left truly a trail of terror through this neighborhood that is haunting a lot of people to this day and has a lot of people on edge,” City Councilman Justin Brannan said.
Officials say 62-year-old Weng Sor rented a U-Haul truck and intentionally mowed down pedestrians and cyclists in Sunset Park and Bay Ridge, killing Ye and injuring eight others.
Wai Yee Chan says that following Ye’s death, she was called in by the mayor's office to help translate for the family.
"Those three kids. They actually don't know what happened. They've been crying and crying. I mean, we just want to look for a space right now. They live with another family. It's really crowded," the executive director of Homecrest Community Services, Wai Yee Chan, said.
Mayor Eric Adams, elected officials and Bay Ridge residents attended the vigil.
"This person was experiencing some real mental health issues that we must focus on and face to make sure our city is safe," Adams said.
Brannan, who represents Bay Ridge, says two people involved in the attack are still in the hospital. Mohammed Zakaria Salah Rakchi is one of those people.
"The doctor, sometimes he says he's stable, and sometimes he's still in critical, so we don't know," his wife, Nadjet Tchenar, said.
Tchenar says each day has been a struggle for her young children.
Many of those injured were delivery drivers working to support a family.
Community members say they came out to Monday's vigil to send a message that those families will alway support from those in Bay Ridge.