Failed terror attempt targets New York City
A man is being held after an attempted terror attack at New York City’s main bus terminal, officials say.
The explosion occurred early Monday morning in the area of the Port Authority Bus Terminal, near 42nd Street and 8th Avenue, which is also close to Times Square, the NYPD spokesperson said. He was unable to comment on the size of the explosion or its origin.
Soon after the explosion was reported, the commutes of New Yorkers miles away from the blast became chaotic. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority reported that 1, 2, 3, A, C, E, N, Q, R, W and 7 trains were skipping 42nd Street.
Transit lines in the area were being evacuated. The subway stations were evacuated, and Port Authority Bus Terminal was also shut down. Commuters underground near 40th Street and 8th Avenue began to flee after the loud, muffled sound was heard in the Port Authority subway station. Police officers, firefighters and Port Authority counterterrorism officials tried to clear people from the bus station and the west side of 8th Avenue as sirens blared.
The Fire Department said four injuries had been reported. It added that all injuries were non-life-threatening.
Update: A total of 4 injuries reported at the scene of an explosion at Port Authority. All injuries are non-life-threatening
— FDNY (@FDNY) December 11, 2017
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Twitter that “an investigation is under way”.
A photo circulating on social media shows a man, said to be the suspect, lying on the ground with his clothes ripped and lacerations on his upper body. The suspect, identified by the police as Akayed Ullah, 27, an immigrant from Bangladesh who lived in Brooklyn, was in serious condition at Bellevue Hospital Center. The suspect was wounded when a “low-tech explosive device” strapped to his body blew up in an underpass, officials say.
In a news conference, Mayor Bill de Blasio called the blast an attempted terrorist attack and said no other devices had been found. “Our lives revolve around the subway,” he said. “The choice of New York is always for a reason, because we are beacons of the world. And we show that a society of many background and many faiths can work. The terrorists want to undermine that,” he added. “They yearn to attack New York City.” Mayor De Blasio said he was believed to have acted alone.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said President Donald Trump had been briefed on the incident.
The Port Authority Bus Terminal is the biggest and busiest bus terminal in the world, serving more than 65 million people a year.
