NYC police have one suspect in custody after a small explosion occurred during rush hour below the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan. Police say the explosion occurred around 0728.
The suspect was reportedly carrying a pipe bomb, authorities said. Police have identified the suspect as a 27-year-old Bangladeshi national named Akayed Ulla.
Former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said the suspect “supposedly was setting the device off in the name of ISIS” and that it was “definitely a terrorist attack, definitely intended.”
The bomb reportedly prematurely detonated, injuring Ulla. [source]
Ulla set off the “effectively low tech device” in a subway passageway just before 7:30 a.m., New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a news conference. “This is New York, the reality is that we are a target by many who would like to make a statement against democracy, against freedom,” Cuomo said.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said: “This was attempted terrorist attack,” adding that authorities could identify no additional threats for the moment.
Ullah’s attack was inspired by ISIS, law enforcement sources told The New York Post.
President Donald Trump has been briefed on the incident, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted.
If the attack is confirmed to be ISIS-inspired, it would be the second ISIS-inspired attack in New York City in less than two months. An Oct. 31 terror attack killed eight people and injured 11 others after a man drove a rented truck into people walking and cycling on a bike path in Lower Manhattan. [source]
From police sources: pic.twitter.com/xFNagGmoh6
— Joe Borelli (@JoeBorelliNYC) December 11, 2017
