Fire Department of New York (FDNY) firefighters stand near Port Authority Bus Terminal after reports of an explosion in Manhattan, New York, U.S., Dec. 11, 2017
By Voice of America / 12.11.2017
A man detonated a pipe bomb strapped to his chest near the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City Monday – injuring himself and thee others in an incident that mayor Bill de Blasio called an “attempted terrorist attack”.
New York Police Commissioner James O’Neill identified the suspect as 27-year-old Akayed Ullah, who is currently being treated for burns and wounds in a nearby hospital under police custody.
Ullah “intentionally” detonated the device, confirmed as a pipe bomb, O’Neill told reporters, speaking alongside mayor de Blasio and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo Monday morning.
The New York Fire Department confirmed three other injuries, all non-life-threatening.
Areas around 42nd street and 8th avenue remained blocked off hours after the blast, with an increased police presence and multiple firetrucks, according to a VOA reporter at the scene. Due to major delays and cancellations on the subway systems, a number of offices in Manhattan told their employees not to come in to work Monday.
Subway lines are expected to be back on usual schedules by Monday evening’s rush hour, after trains were evacuated and bypassing the 42nd street stop, which is in the heart of Manhattan’s Times Square – a popular destination among tourists.
The @PANYNJ Port Authority Bus Terminal (@PABusTerminal) has reopened. For the latest updates on delays and schedules there, follow them and check https://t.co/WgpwsNwfxq
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) December 11, 2017
In addition to a busy area for tourists, particularly around the holiday season, Port Authority is a central transportation hub in New York – where all the buses from New Jersey arrive as well as most of the buses that connect New York to neighboring states and cities. Most subway lines throughout all of New York also connect at 42nd street.
“Let’s be clear as New Yorker’s our lives revolve around the subways when we hear an attack on the subways, it’s incredibly unsettling. And let’s be also clear this was an attempted terrorist attack. Thank god the perpetrator did not achieve his ultimate goals,” Mayor de Blasio said. He added that there were no additional known incidents or threats.
Originally published by Voice of America under a Government Public Domain license.