Criminal authorities demand death sentence for man accused of murder on a bicycle path in New York

Federal prosecutors will seek the death penalty for the man accused of killing eight people on a New York City bike path and injuring many others.

In a document filed on Friday, the US government said that "a death sentence is warranted" if Sayfullo Saipov was found guilty in his trial, scheduled for October 2019.

According to prosecutors, several factors justify the death sentence for the Uzbek immigrant living in Paterson, New Jersey, including the intention to kill and injure many people; an odious, cruel and depraved way of committing these murders and wounds; and substantial planning and premeditation.

Saipov, through his lawyer, pleaded not guilty to the October 31, 2017 bombing near the World Trade Center. "

Copyright Associated Press / NBC New York