The incident happened at the intersection of Third Avenue and East 39th Street on Friday afternoon. A Black Lives Matter demonstration with around 50 protesters was taking place at the time. Six people were struck by the car, a police source told NBC New York.
The New York City Police Department tweeted: “Please avoid the area of 3rd Avenue & 39 Avenue in Manhattan due to a vehicle collision involving multiple pedestrians.
“Information at this time is preliminary, updates to follow.”
Several ambulances and emergency vehicles were seen around the area in Manhattan just after 4pm on Friday.
According to reports, a few protesters are believed to have surrounded a car.
Soon after, the driver of the car reportedly drove into the group.
Seven people are thought to have suffered injuries from the incident.
It is not yet clear whether the incident was accidental or intentional by the driver.
Video footage posted on social media appears to show the police arresting a woman thought to be the driver of the car.
Witnesses have reportedly said the female driver was accompanied by a female passenger.
The protesters had surrounded the car and started pounding on it before the driver moved forward in the vehicle, two law enforcement sources told NBC New York.
Several of the people hurt during the incident were reportedly taken to hospital.
Police said the driver of the car stayed on the scene after the incident and was being questioned by officers, according to reports.
“At this time, all those hit seemed to have sustained non-life-threatening injuries,” an NYPD spokesperson told The Daily Beast on Friday.
According to CBS Local, a demonstration was being held in the area for people on hunger strike at an ICE facility in New Jersey when the incident took place.
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