New York City Pipe Bomb Suspect Captured Alive

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One person has been placed in police custody following an explosion at a New York bus stop.

Moments earlier the New York Police Department’s Twitter account sent out a post telling their 487K followers they were responding to an explosion in Manhattan.

They also wrote they would be evacuating certain lines on New York’s busy subway.

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On Twitter the NYPD wrote:

The NYPD is responding to reports of an explosion of unknown origin at 42nd Street and 8th Ave, #Manhattan. The A, C and E line are being evacuated at this time. Info is preliminary, more when available.

Less than an hour later they tweeted again claiming they have one suspect in custody already. According to The Mirror, four people have been reported injured. However, there were no serious injuries in the fallout from the explosion – except to the person placed in custody.

They wrote:

Update regarding explosion at 42nd St and 8th Ave, in subway: One male suspect is in custody. No injuries other than suspect at this time. Avoid the area. Subways bypassing #PortAuthority and Times Square Stations. Info is preliminary.

The suspect has since been identified as Akayed Ullah, a 27-year-old who has been described by police as ‘absolutely failing in an attempt at terrorism’. He is a Bangladeshi national who has lived in the US for seven years, according to The Independent.

Speaking to The Guardian a commuter who was travelling from NY’s Port Authority said they saw explosion happen 60 seconds are they left the building, he was told by an officer it was ‘a guy with a pipe-bomb’.

According to Associated Press:

Law enforcement official says a man had an explosive device strapped on when it exploded in the New York City subway

New York’s Port Authority subway and bus hub serves as a bridge for commuters from neighbouring state New Jersey going to The Big Apple. According to their website, an estimated 230,000 use the transport terminal per day.

An official statement from the office of Bill de Blasio, New York’s mayor, was soon released saying he:

… has been briefed on the incident in midtown. The NYPD, FDNY and first responders are on the scene.

The White House press secretary Sarah Sanders sent out a tweet saying President Donald Trump has been informed on the situation.

There have been conflicting reports about the person placed in custody, The New York Times have claimed  ‘Two people were in custody’ after speaking to an unnamed law enforcement source.

The officer said it was possible one of the two alleged suspects could have been carrying a device which may have been the pipe bomb.

The NY Times is keen to point out that any information coming out right now is preliminary.

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Speaking to The NY Times, 62-year-old caseworker Andre Rodriguez, who heard the explosion just before 7:30 said:

I was going through the turnstile… It sounded like an explosion, and everybody started running.

Alicja Wlodkowski, 51, who was dining in a restaurant inside Port Authority, told The NY Times:

A woman fell, and nobody even stopped to help her because it was so crazy… Then it all slowed down. I was standing and watching and scared.

We’ll keep you updated as this story develops.

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