New York explosion: Moment pipe bomb strapped to man inspired by Isis detonates in Manhattan subway

Hatty Collier11 December 2017

This is the moment a pipe bomb strapped to a man inspired by the Islamic State group exploded in a packed New York City subway.

The crude pipe bomb went off on Monday in a crowded subway corridor near Times Square, injuring the man and wounding three others.

CCTV cameras captured the moment the suspect walked casually through the crowded passageway before the bomb went off at 7.20am.

Commuters fled in terror amid a plume of white smoke. Video footage showed the man then sprawled on the ground.

The moment a pipe bomb detonated in a New York subway in a suspected terror attack

The 27-year-old has been named by law enforcement officials as Akayed Ullah. They said he was living in Brooklyn.

Manhattan Bus Terminal 'Explosion' - In pictures

1/10

He told investigators from his hospital bed on Monday that he was inspired by the Islamic State group to carry out an attack, but had no direct contact with the terror group.

Police and fire crews block off the streets near the New York Port Authority in New York City
REUTERS

The suspect had burns on his abdomen and also to his hands and officials said he assembled the crude device, which was attached to him using Velcro and cable ties, in his apartment.

Law enforcement officials said he came to the US from Bangladesh seven years ago with a type of preferential visa for people with relatives who are US citizens or permanent residents.

Investigators said it was not clear if the bomb was set off intentionally or went off prematurely.

2011 drivers licence shows Akayed Ullah, the suspect in the explosion near New York's Times Square
AP

"This was an attempted terrorist attack," New York's mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters.

"Thank God the perpetrator did not achieve his ultimate goals."

The explosion, which happened in an underground passageway under 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues, triggered a massive emergency response by police and firefighters both above and below ground, affecting subway and bus service at the nearby Port Authority bus terminal.

Times Square was shut down, halting what would ordinarily be a bustling rush hour.

Armed police at the scene near Times Square
AP

A photo published by the New York Post showed a bearded man crumpled on the ground with his shirt apparently blown off and black soot covering his bare midriff.

A police officer was holding the man's hands behind his back.

Another photo shown on cable channel NY1 showed the bearded suspect, wide-eyed, on a stretcher being loaded into an ambulance.

Three people who were in the passageway when the bomb went off suffered minor injuries.

Elrana Peralta, a customer-service worker for Greyhound, said she works in the Port Authority terminal complex near where the blast happened but did not hear the explosion.

"All we could hear was the chaos," she said.

"We could hear people yelling, 'Get out! Get out! Get out!"'

John Miles, 28, from Vermont, was waiting for a bus to Massachusetts.

He did not hear the blast either, but saw police react.

"I didn't know what was going on. Officers were running around. I was freaking out," he said.

There was an announcement that people should take their bags and leave.”

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted that President Donald Trump had been briefed on the explosion.

Instead of commenting on the suspected terror attack, Mr Trump later sent a tweet at 9.17am criticising a Sunday story in The New York Times that said he watched cable news television for at least four hours a day.

The blast came just weeks after eight people died in New York when another man, also said to be inspired by the Islamic State, drove a rented vehicle onto a bike path near the World Trade Centre.

Governor Andrew Cuomo said at a news conference following the attack that New Yorkers should be alert but go about their lives.

"Let's go back to work," he said.

"We're not going to allow them to disrupt us."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT