The suspect in Monday’s bomb explosion in New York City had at least two devices, a law enforcement source told CNN.
One device, a foot-long pipe that contained black powder, a battery, wiring, nails and screws, was attached to Akayed Ullah, a 27-year-old Brooklyn, NY resident, with Velcro and zip ties. Investigators did not elaborate on the second device.
Investigators also said the suspect, who is currently being treated at Bellevue Hospital, for lacerations and burns to his hands and abdomen, pledged allegiance to ISIS.
The explosive chemical ignited in the pipe but the pipe itself did not explode, lessening its impact, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.
“Fortunately for us, the bomb partially detonated,” Cuomo said. “He did detonate it, but it did not fully have the effect that he was hoping for.”
The explosion happened in a pedestrian subway tunnel connecting two subway lines beneath the Port Authority Bus Terminal, near Times Square, which accommodates 220,000 passenger trips a day. The 7:20 a.m. blast caused smoke to fill the passageway, which was crowded with throngs of Monday morning commuters.
In a press conference Monday morning, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill labeled it an attempted terror attack.
“Thank God the perpetrator did not achieve his ultimate goals,” de Blasio said.
The explosion triggered a massive emergency response by police and firefighters both above and below ground, tangling subway and bus service at the nearby Port Authority bus terminal.
At the press conference, Gov. Cuomo said the incident was “handled extraordinarily well” by police.
“The reality is that we are a target by many who would like to make a statement against democracy, against freedom,” said Cuomo. “We have the Statue of Liberty in our harbor, and that makes us an international target, and we understand that.
“With the internet now, 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.”
“The counter reality is that this is New York, and we all pitch together, and we are a savvy people, and we keep our eyes open—and that’s what ‘see something, say something’ is all about—and we have the best law enforcement on the globe.”
Department of Homeland Security spokesman Tyler Houlton told CNN that Ullah is a native of Bangladesh who has been living in the US since 2011 on an F43 family immigrant visa.
According to one law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the investigation, Ullah told investigators he acted in response to Israeli actions in Gaza.
This an updated version of yesterday’s TCR report. News interns Megan Hadley and Brian Edsall contributed to coverage of this story.