Thank God For Incompetent Terrorists...
Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2017 7:45 pm
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ny ... al-n828331NYC explosion: Suspect in custody after ‘terror-related incident’ in subway
A suspected terrorist detonated a potentially deadly “improvised low-tech explosive device” inside a New York City subway passageway during Monday morning rush hour, injuring himself and three other people and causing chaos at one of the city’s key traffic hubs.
The device went off in the 42nd Street passageway between 7th and 8th avenues, and the suspect, later identified as Akayed Ullah, 27, was taken into custody, NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill said.
The incident happened at about 7:20 a.m. in the busy underground tunnel near both the Times Square subway station and the Port Authority Bus Terminal. None of the injuries were considered life-threatening, according to the Fire Department of New York.
Ullah was wearing a pipe bomb-based device that was affixed to his body with Velcro and zip ties, NYPD deputy commissioner John Miller said. Officials said Ullah was taken to Bellevue Hospital on Manhattan's East Side with burns and other wounds.
Earlier, law enforcement officials told NBC News that the suspect was the only person hurt and that he had sustained a minor injury.
Ullah is a former taxi driver who was licensed from March 2012 to March 2015, according to the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission. Multiple senior law enforcement officials said that he had several traffic tickets with the NYPD, although they didn't say what dates the tickets were from.
No other information about Ullah's background was immediately available.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called the explosion an "attempted terror attack" and said there were no additional known incidents.
"Thank God the perpetrator did not achieve his ultimate goals. Thank God our first responders were there so quickly to address the situation," de Blasio said. He called the situation "incredibly unsettling" for New Yorkers, nearly 6 million of whom rely on the subway for their commutes every weekday.
Law enforcement officials said the device either went off prematurely or only partially detonated.
Former NYPD commissioner Bill Bratton said preliminary information indicated that the explosion was carried out in the name of the Islamic State. O'Neill, the current commissioner, told reporters he couldn't delve into an ISIS connection at this point.
"He did make statements, but we're not going to talk about that right now," O'Neill said.
