A photo of the suspect in Monday morning’s subway attack in New York has been posted on Twitter. The male suspect has been identified as Akayed Ullah, a former cab driver who was “inspired by ISIS” to carry out this attack.
Witnesses heard the explosion around 7:20 a.m. on Monday, December 11, near the Port Authority bus terminal and not far from bustling Times Square.
Police took 27-year-old Ullah into custody shortly after the explosion was reported. He was found laying on the ground after an explosive attached to his body was set off. Police believe that the male suspect injured himself when some sort of explosive device was detonated prematurely or malfunctioned.
According to Mail Online, he was “wearing a device with wires.” There are some conflicting reports about what that device may have been. Some sources have told media outlets that the man was wearing a suicide vest, while others report that he had been carrying some sort of homemade explosive device. Police confirmed that Ullah was wearing a “low-tech” device and that he was carrying a second device on his person.
Sources told CNN that they saw the suspect being taken away from the scene on a stretcher. He was transported by ambulance to Bellevue Hospital. Early reports indicated that the suspect had died, but police have since confirmed that he is alive. During a press conference this morning, authorities confirmed that Ullah had suffered “burns and wounds to his body” but that his injuries were not life-threatening.
Former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton told MSNBC that preliminary information suggested that the suspect “may have been from Bangladesh” and has been living in the United States for about seven years. This information has been confirmed by authorities. According to the New York Post, Ullah planned this attack as some kind of revenge.
“They’ve been bombing in my country and I wanted to do damage here,” Ullah told investigators, according to sources.
It has also been reported that the suspect lived in the East Flatbush area of Brooklyn. Authorities had gone to his home to look for more information.
“Investigators briefly spoke to the suspect [who] told them he made the explosive device at the electrical company where he works,” read a tweet from the New York City Alerts Twitter page.
According to New York Mayor Bill De Blasio, Ullah acted alone. He said that there is no additional threat to the people of New York City.
“This is New York. The reality is that we are a target by many who would like to make a statement against democracy, against freedom. We have the Statue of Liberty in our harbor and that makes us an international target. We are not going to allow them to disrupt us,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said earlier this morning.
Three other people have been injured in this incident, but their injuries are not life-threatening, according to FDNY. They were able to transport themselves to the hospital and were treated for things like “ringing in the ears” and headaches, according to CBS New York.
