No room for hate

At 3:04pm on 31 October 2017, Sayfullo Saipov sat at the wheel of his rented pick up truck on West St in Lower Manhattan. Maybe he wondered what he was about to do. Maybe he didn't. Whatever he was thinking, he eventually pressed his foot down on the accelerator and launched his truck down a bike lane that runs between West St and the Hudson River, crushing eight pedestrians.

At 3:04pm on 31 October 2017, I was about a block away, sitting in a laundromat, staring at the window of an industrial dryer as my clothes completed their final cycle. I was listening to music on my phone, blissfully unaware of what was happening a couple of streets away.

At 7:00pm on 31 October 2017, the NYC Village Halloween parade began its slow march up 6th Avenue, from Spring St in Lower Manhattan to 16th St in Chelsea. I don't know if this happens at the parade every year, but this year, a small group of 'angels' dressed all in white walked silently ahead of the main parade performers. One of the angels carried a sign which read, 'No Room For Hate'.

At 7:07pm on 31 October 2017, I took this shot from the corner of Bedford St and 6th Avenue - exactly five blocks from the spot where, just four hours earlier, Sayfullo Saipov must have taken a deep breath, his foot hovering above the accelerator...

We all have a choice.