Terrorism, insanity, or accident? An explosion ripped through the Port Authority bus terminal in New York City less than an hour ago, a major transportation hub in America’s largest city, not far off from Times Square. Details are still sketchy, but multiple news outlets report that the police have taken one person into custody. ABC News adds that police believe at the moment that a pipe bomb was the cause, although that is a preliminary judgment. “The situation is fluid,” their reporter tells George Stephanopoulos:
WATCH: @ABC News Special Report: Possible pipe bomb detonated in passageway below ground at Port Authority in NYC, police sources say; 1 person in custody; few injuries. https://t.co/gygpJ8X12q pic.twitter.com/Qjr3eRuMld
— ABC News (@ABC) December 11, 2017
Bear in mind that the first details reported are subject to later heavy revision, if not full retraction. However, the New York Post is hearing the same thing — and that it could have been worse:
Several people were injured Monday morning when a device exploded at the Port Authority bus terminal on 42nd Street, according to law enforcement sources.
One person is in custody after his device partially detonated inside a tunnel, sources told The Post.
NBC reports that only one person got injured, and it’s the suspect in custody:
LATEST: NYPD official says at least one person has sustained a minor injury and that it is the person in custody.
— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 11, 2017
Earlier they reported that the police were still unsure whether there were more injuries and whether there were any more bombs:
WATCH: “It is unclear if there is anyone injured. Police right now are running around the building with what looks like bomb-sniffing dogs.” @NBCNews researcher Christian Santana pic.twitter.com/gj96OA9meF
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) December 11, 2017
At the moment, the bus terminal has been evacuated — no small feat there — while police conduct their investigation. This will snarl traffic and travel plans for the day, but it could have been much worse. The choice of a transportation hub as a target will certainly raise suspicions about the motive behind the attack, as radical Islamist terror groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIS prefer such targets, but there are plenty of other possibilities, too. Hopefully the police and counterterrorism officials will get more information out quickly. We will update the post as more developments occur.
Update: If it is a pipe bomb and it is a terrorist attack, CBS wonders, why didn’t it cause “mass casualties”? That’s likely what the Joint Terrorism Task Force is asking right now:
Authorities will try to determine “If it is an act of terrorism, if this is a terrorist, is he alone wolf?…Are there other cells waiting to be activated?” Former NYPD officer Bill Stanton says https://t.co/bM1QNc561o pic.twitter.com/i3ESW3Rvv3
— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 11, 2017
Also, this appears to be surveillance video of the explosion:
https://twitter.com/NYCityAlerts/status/940209031532220418
Update: The answer to CBS’ question might be that the terrorist screwed up handling the bomb. CNN hears that police believe that the suspect was traveling to his intended target, and that the bus terminal wasn’t it:
CNN reporter @ShimonPro: One person is in custody after NYC explosion, which police say was a pipe bomb that "wasn't supposed to go off at the location it did" https://t.co/F4PSDxqqGD https://t.co/WOveZGtzbZ
— New Day (@NewDay) December 11, 2017
Update: CBS reports that police found a second device, presumably on the suspect:
NYPD says the suspect in custody had another device, @Brook Silva-Braga reports https://t.co/bM1QNc561o pic.twitter.com/ScNtFk6eC3
— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 11, 2017
Did he plan to set them off in separate locations, or use one to intensify the other?
Update: The only injury is the suspect, and he’s in bad shape, according to the latest update:
JUST IN: Suspect in Port Authority incident is in custody, is a male in his 20s – alive but badly injured, sources say – @AaronKatersky https://t.co/jQ1LnZFyzy
— ABC News (@ABC) December 11, 2017
Let’s hope he stays alive long enough to break during questioning.
Update: The New York Post reports that the suspect was trying to commit a suicide bombing after being inspired by … well ….
An ISIS-inspired suicide bomber set off a homemade explosive device at the Port Authority Bus Terminal subway station Monday morning, law enforcement sources said.
The man – a 27-year-old who lived in Brooklyn and is possibly of Bangladesh origin – had wires attached to him and a five-inch metal pipe bomb and battery pack strapped to his mid-section as he walked through the Manhattan transit hub, sources said. …
Former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that the man was inspired by ISIS and possibly born in Bangladesh.
Bratton, who said the man had been living in the US for seven years, “was supposedly setting the device off in the name of ISIS.”
The Morning Joe segment is below, but Bratton takes care to emphasize that this information is preliminary:
The Post has a picture of the suspect in custody, who looks as though he’s not doing very well.
Update: “Let’s get back to work,” Governor Andrew Cuomo said at a press conference. The suspect has been identified as Akayed Ullah, whose current address is Bellevue Hospital, thanks to the “low-tech device” he strapped to his body. Investigators want to hear from anyone who knows Ullah. Three other people got minor injuries from the blast, consisting of hearing loss and headaches, and they are being treated at local hospitals.
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