Port Authority Reopens After Explosion; Suspect Akayed Ullah Taken Into Custody for Terror-Related Incident
NEW YORK — The Port Authority Bus Terminal here has reopened after an unidentified male has been taken into custody after an early morning explosion in the area.
The suspect, 27-year-old Akayed Ullah, is being treated for severe burns that occurred after the pipe bomb that was strapped on him detonated at 7:20 a.m. The New York Fire Department is reporting a total of four injuries, none of which are life-threatening. The incident was being investigated as a possible terrorist incident.
Observers watching surveillance video of the explosion posted by the New York Police Department noted more than once, “No, he never took his hand out of his pocket.”
At a press event, NYPD Police Commissioner James O’Neill said, “This is New York City, we don’t live in fear. But if you see something suspicious you have an obligation to come forward and tell us.”
The explosion happened in a passageway between Seventh and Eight Avenues that connect the 1,2, 3 and Times Square Shuttle subway trains. The Port Authority and Times Square subway hubs are major transportation arteries for the city. On a daily basis, 200,000 people pass through the Port Authority, the world’s busiest bus terminal. Nearly 8,000 buses arrive in New York from New Jersey and the northern New York suburbs. The 67-year-old Port Authority building, like Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal, does not have airport-worthy security.
Two NYFD firefighters and officials were still on the scene Monday morning more than two hours after the 7:19 a.m. emergency call was first placed. The smell of burnt rubber was still in the air. As six helicopters hovered overhead, scores of police officers, firefighters and counter-terrorism officials and other investigators were on the scene. About 70 fire engines, EMT vehicles and NYFD vehicles lined Eighth Avenue.
No cars on the FDR Drive were allowed to exit from 59th Street to 42nd Street. In addition, from 48th Street to 40th Street, vehicular traffic was closed from 45th Streets to 40th Streets.
The New York Times headquarters on Eighth Avenue remained open throughout the incident, although employees were alerted around 8 a.m. and were urged to delay their commute, according to a company spokeswoman. Staffers will be updated again when the situation is resolved, she added.
Commuters making their way to work via the subway and Port Authority-bound buses faced a long commute with numerous lines suspended, and others bypassing Port Authority and Times Square. At one point, Port Authority buses were dropping passengers at Tenth Avenue and West 40th Street. But just a few blocks east in Times Square, the morning buzz was seemingly normal with commuters dodging more gingerly-paced tourists and numerous stores already open for business. All employees at H&M’s 42,000-square-foot Times Square store were accounted for and the location opened for business at the normal start time of 8 a.m., a company spokeswoman said.
Troy Williams, a security official who works in the Times Square area, said, “Keep walking, keep operating, keep doing what you normally do. Just be a little more vigilant of what’s going on. That’s the only way because they want to disrupt the city. They want to keep people in fear by doing these things. And it’s not going to stop us.”
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