UPDATE:
• A man wearing a homemade device set it off at Port Authority bus terminal near Times Square.
• The suspect: Police named 27-year-old Akayed Ullah. His motives are unclear.
• Injuries: Four people, including the suspect, were injured. None of those are life-threatening, according to FDNY.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio assured that there are no other threats against the area in the hours after the explosion.
“At this point in time, all we know of is one individual who, thank God, was unsuccessful in his aims.
There are also no credible and specific threats against New York City at this time. But we will give you more information, of course, as the investigation unfolds. The first responders, responded brilliantly. Now the mission of the NYPD is to secure all major transit hubs and major sites in this city. So you’ll see expanded NYPD presence today all over the city.”
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said an explosion in the subway system is
“in many ways one of our worst nightmares… The first news this morning was obviously very frightening and disturbing. When you hear about a bomb in the subway station, which is in many ways one of our worst nightmares. The reality turns out better than the initial expectation and fear.”
NYPD Sgt. Brendan Ryan said the the A, C and E subway lines are being evacuated, One person is in custody, according to two NYPD sources with direct knowledge of the situation.
Preliminary information, according to two law enforcement sources, one local and one federal, indicates a pipe bomb may have unintentionally exploded. The person in custody appears to be injured
Another New York police source says a man in custody may have set off a device, injuring himself.
Francisco Ramirez said he heard two explosions as he was exiting a bus about 7:45 a.m. ET. He heard both blasts distinctly even though he was wearing headphones.
“From what I saw it sounded like it came from the subway, but I’m just guessing. 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.
It was scary. It was just a lot of chaos but I didn’t see any injuries.”
This is a developing story.
A Brooklyn man has been arrested after allegedly detonating a homemade pipe bomb inside the Port Authority https://t.co/JdHgIez0Fe pic.twitter.com/QuNAxQRGv8
— New York Post (@nypost) December 11, 2017
Video shows massive response in New York City after explosion inside Port Authority Bus Terminal; suspect taken into custody, police say. https://t.co/jQ1LnZFyzy pic.twitter.com/4BNWLg1rQb
— ABC News (@ABC) December 11, 2017
(Photo, screen grab; via CNN)
