WASHINGTON — A man armed with a “low-tech” pipe bomb caused a blast in New York at the height of the morning commute that shut down the Port Authority Bus Terminal, subway lines and nearby Times Square.
At a news conference Monday morning, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called the blast, which came shortly before 7:30 a.m., an “attempted terrorist attack” and praised law enforcement for the quick response.
“There are no additional known activities,” de Blasio said. “There are no credible threats against New York City at this time.”
NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill identified the suspect as 27-year-old Akayed Ullah. Police say Ullah was wearing a pipe bomb affixed to his chest with Velcro and zip ties. He suffered severe injuries in the blast, including “burns and wounds to his body,” and is being treated at Bellevue Hospital, O’Neill said.
In addition to the suspect, three other people in the vicinity of the explosion suffered minor injuries, such as ringing in the ears and headaches, authorities said.
Police said the explosion happened in an underground passageway under 42nd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues. The passageway connects Port Authority station with the Times Square station. The 7:20 a.m. blast filled the passageway, crowded with throngs of Monday morning commuters, with smoke.
The blast prompted a massive police presence, with police and the bomb squad on the scene at 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue.
There were huge traffic delays getting into New York, WCBS reported. The delays were 90 minutes into the city. Police also shut down a number of streets.
At the news conference, Metropolitan Transportation Authority authorities said the subway was still bypassing the Port Authority and Times Square stations but that they expected service to return to normal by the evening rush hour.
“This is New York,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at the news conference. “The reality is that we are a target by many who would like to make a statement against democracy, against freedom … We understand that.”
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted that President Donald Trump had been briefed on the explosion. D.C. police said they are closely watching the situation in New York.
“We are monitoring the incident that occurred in New York City this morning. At this time, there are no current threats to the District of Columbia. We ask all residents and visitors to remain vigilant,” D.C. police tweeted.
WTOP’s Jack Moore and The Associated Press contributed to this story.
