Less than two months after a man drove a truck into a New York bicycle lane, killing eight people, another terrorist incident has struck Manhattan.
During the busy morning commute yesterday, a 27-year-old man detonated an explosive device strapped to his chest in a subway station near Times Square. The explosion occurred at approximately 7.20am, injuring three people.
The attacker, a Bangladeshi immigrant named Akayed Ullah, had “an improvised low-tech explosive device attached to his body”, New York police commissioner James O’Neill said. Ullah sustained burns to his torso and body and is currently in hospital.
Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo said the attack was “in many ways, one of our worst nightmares.” He added that: “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.”
“Anyone can go on the internet and download garbage and vileness, how to put together an amateur level explosive device, and that is the reality we live with,” he continued. “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 we have the best law enforcement in the globe.”
Mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, confirmed that “this was an attempted terrorist attack,” The Guardian reports. He said there were “no known additional incidents or activities”, but police would be on high alert.
The subway station Ullah chose serves more than 65 million people a year, and is the busiest in the world.
President Donald Trump is yet to comment on the incident.
