Ullah reportedly came to the United States seven years ago, a U.S. official told Daily Beast. He lived in Brooklyn and reportedly came from Bangladesh, a country where 90 percent of the population is Muslim.
Ullah set off a low-tech explosive described by several media as a pipe bomb. Photos posted on social media show that the device was strapped to his stomach with zip ties.
Authorities evacuated the Port Authority Bus Terminal after the explosion, snarling morning commutes and throwing Manhattan’s midtown into disarray.
Ullah was alone when the device detonated and the explosion seemed to go off prematurely, according to the police. A city official told New York Times that a surveillance camera recorded the explosion.
“Our lives revolve around the subway,” de Blasio told reported, according to the Times. “The choice of New York is always for a reason, because we are beacons of the world. And we show that a society of many backgrounds and many faiths can work.”
“The terrorists want to undermine that,” he added. “They yearn to attack New York City.”
The metro began skipping the 42nd street station after the explosion. Commuters rushed to flee as emergency personnel worked to clear people out of the bus terminal.
“I was going through the turnstile,” 62-year-old Andre Rodriguez told the Times. “It sounded like an explosion, and everybody started running.”
“A woman fell, and nobody even stopped to help her because it was so crazy,”Alicja Wlodkowski, 51, told the Times. “Then it all slowed down. I was standing and watching and scared.”
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