A man wearing a homemade pipe bomb detonated his explosive in a walkway at the Port Authority Bus Terminal near Times Square on Monday, injuring five people and causing chaos in one of the city's busiest commuter hubs, officials said. Authorities called the explosion in the terminal at 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue an "attempted terrorist attack" that appears to be isolated. Police identified the suspect in custody as Akayed Ullah, 27.
Akayed Ullah was taken into custody Monday. Motive: Ullah told investigators he carried out the attack because of recent Israeli actions in Gaza, a law enforcement source said.
More on suspect: In conversations with authorities, Ullah pledged allegiance to ISIS, according to one law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the investigation. He is of Bangladeshi descent and lives in Brooklyn, two law enforcement sources told CNN. Ullah held a Taxi & Limousine Commission license from March 2012 to March 2015, after which the license was not renewed, TLC spokesman Allan Fromberg said. It's unclear "whether he drove for any particular base, or whether he simply got the license but didn't drive at all," Fromberg said. Residency: Ullah came to the United States in 2011 on an F43 family immigrant visa, said Department of Homeland Security spokesman Tyler Houlton. He is now a lawful permanent resident. According to the State Department, F43 visas are granted to children of American citizens' siblings. What his neighbor says: Alan Butrico owns a Brooklyn building next to the home where he says Ullah lives with his family. He said Ullah lives in the basement, while his sister and brother live above him. "He wasn't friendly at all. The family was very quiet themselves. They don't talk to nobody. They just stay there," he said, adding that his tenants reported hearing "screaming and yelling" coming from Ullah's home the last two nights. The tenants did not call police, he said.
Type of device: Ullah wore an "improvised low-tech explosive device attached to his body," which he intentionally detonated, Police Commissioner James O'Neill said. The device, a pipe bomb, was attached to Ullah with Velcro and zip ties, said John Miller, NYPD deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism. How bomb was made: According to a senior New York law enforcement official and a city official being briefed on the investigation, Ullah told police he made the device at his workplace. It's unclear where he's employed. Added Gov. Andrew Cuomo during a news conference, "Anyone can go on the internet and download garbage and vileness on how to put together an amateur-level explosive device, and that is the reality that we live with."
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