A man with a homemade bomb strapped to his body set off an explosion at a bustling New York City transit hub on Monday morning, injuring himself and four bystanders in what Mayor Bill DeBlasio called a terror attack.
The explosion went off at 7:20 a.m. in a subway tunnel at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, just a block from Times Square. Commuters fled from the scene as the blast echoed out and filled parts of the building filled with smoke.
Police arrested the suspect, Akayed Ullah, shortly after. Ullah, 27, is an immigrant from Bangladesh who lived in Brooklyn. He was taken to a local hospital with severe injuries, including burns to his body, officials said.
The attack brought the city’s subway system to a standstill until late morning.
The explosion comes just weeks after a Sayfullo Saipov drove a rented truck down a Lower Manhattan bike path on Halloween, killing eight people and injuring many others.
Update from @FDNY regarding injuries at 42nd St. and 8th Ave. #PortAuthority https://t.co/IzZmg63kzr
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) December 11, 2017
Traffic update regarding incident at 42nd St and 8th Ave: No cars allowed to exit FDR Drive from 59st to 42nd St., — 45th to 40th St., 7th to 9th Ave remains closed. #PortAuthority pic.twitter.com/ejuOgyqg9u
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) December 11, 2017
.@NYCMayor, @NYPDONeill, and @NYGovCuomo will give an update on the incident in Midtown Manhattan. We will stream it here.
— NYC Mayor’s Office (@NYCMayorsOffice) December 11, 2017
