UPDATED: 9:40 A.M. EST:
During a Monday press conference NYPD Commissioner James O’Neil confirmed that the suspect, a 27-year old male named Akayed Ullah, is in custody and was transported to Bellevue Hospital. He suffered burns and other wounds on his hands and abdomen.
Governor Andrew Cuomo called the incident “frightening and disturbing.”
“The reality turns out better than the initial expectation and fear,” he said referring to the fact that there were no reported deaths. Cuomo was flanked by representatives of several law enforcement agencies, including the FBI. Cuomo said the device was effectively “low-tech.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio also spoke confirming that the explosion was an attempted terrorist attack. “Thank God that the perpetrator did not achieve his ultimate goals,” he said.
“There are no additional known incidents at this time, there are no additional activities,” De Blasio said. “We will give you more information as the investigation unfolds,” he continued.
He also warned that there will be heightened NYPD presence on the streets. Transit authorities say they expect transit to be back up and running by the evening rush hour.
UPDATED 9:05 A.M. EST:
The reported male suspect is in his 20’s and is from Bangladesh, but resides in Brooklyn. Authorities have not released an image of the suspect or his name, at this time.
Police believe the suspect’s bomb–a homemade device, was attached to his body and detonated prematurely. Authorities will continue to investigate whether he acted alone or within a larger group. Three other people besides the attacker have suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to an on-air report by CNN.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Police are investigating confirmed reports of an explosion which occurred underground at the Port Authority bus terminal on Monday morning in Midtown Manhattan near Times Square.
The New York Police Department sent a Twitter alert that the explosion occurred near 42nd street and 8th Avenue. Several witnesses spoke with CNN and said that an explosion was heard around 7:45 a.m. EST.
“From what I saw it sounded like it came from the subway, but I’m just guessing,” Francisco Ramirez said. “It was two distinct explosions seconds from each other. As I was making my way toward the outside, I kept getting shoved by cops and there were cops at every entrance blocking and there was police and SWAT everywhere.”
According to authorities, one person is in custody, and there are no reported deaths at this time, CNN reports. CBS New York reports that the man in custody suffered a laceration to his thigh, and is currently the only reported injury.
Several subway lines including the A,C and E train lines are currently being evacuated.
Port Authority is a massive transit hub where several thousand people commute each day. President Trump, New York governor Andrew Cuomo, and New York City mayor Bill de Blasio have been briefed on the investigation. De Blasio is currently heading to the scene according to his office’s twitter handle.
This is a breaking story and will be updated as new information becomes available.
SOURCE: CBS New York, CNN
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One Person In Custody After Explosion At Port Authority Bus Terminal In New York City was originally published on hellobeautiful.com
