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New York Explosion Empties Port Authority; Suspect Is in
Custody
By WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM, JONAH ENGEL BROMWICH and BRIAN M.
ROSENTHALDEC. 11, 2017
A peaceful beginning to the workweek was shattered Monday
after an explosion rattled through one of the busiest transit
hubs in New York City, causing the authorities to evacuate
hundreds of commuters and throwing the morning into chaos.
The Police Department said that one person was in custody
after the blast echoed through the passageway connecting the
Times Square and Port Authority subway stations shortly before
7:30 a.m.
The suspect, identified by the police as Akayed Ullah, 27,
from Brooklyn, was in serious condition at Bellevue Hospital
Center. The Fire Department said four injuries had been
reported.
A senior city official who declined to be identified because
of the continuing investigation said that Mr. Ullah had been
wearing an explosive device and after the blast the police had
to strip him to remove it.
The subway stations were evacuated, and Port Authority Bus
Terminal was also shut down.
Mr. Ullah was alone, the police said, and the device was
reported to have gone off prematurely. The explosion was
recorded on surveillance video, the city official said.
Surveillance Video Shows Bomb Going Off in New York Transit
Hub
Surveillance cameras captured the moments before and after a
suspect appeared to detonate a bomb in a New York City subway
tunnel connecting Times Square and Port Authority stations.
In a news conference, Mayor Bill de Blasio called the blast an
attempted terrorist attack and said no other devices had been
found.
“Our lives revolve around the subway,” he said. “The
choice of New York is always for a reason, because we are
beacons of the world. And we show that a society of many
background and many faiths can work.”
“The terrorists want to undermine that,” he added. “They
yearn to attack New York City.”
Soon after the explosion was reported, the commutes of New
Yorkers miles away from the blast became chaotic. The
Metropolitan Transportation Authority reported that 1, 2, 3,
A, C, E, N, Q, R, W and 7 trains were skipping 42nd Street.
Commuters underground near 40th Street and 8th Avenue began to
flee after the loud, muffled sound was heard in the Port
Authority subway station. Police officers, firefighters and
Port Authority counterterrorism officials tried to clear
people from the bus station and the west side of 8th Avenue as
sirens blared.
Andre Rodriguez, 62, a caseworker at one of the city’s
shelters, said he heard the explosion around 7:30.
“I was going through the turnstile,” he said. “It
sounded like an explosion, and everybody started running.”
Alicja Wlodkowski, 51, said that she had been in a restaurant
inside the Port Authority when she suddenly saw a crowd of
people running.
“A woman fell, and nobody even stopped to help her because
it was so crazy,” she said. “Then it all slowed down. I
was standing and watching and scared.”
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