--- description: The suspect who set off a bomb in the subway near New York City's Times Square on Monday has been identified by authorities as Akayed Ullah. title: What We Know About the New York City Terrorist Explosion Suspect image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1b98221c3d148a8f/6988f48d86f68e9e786e787f/port-authority-explosion-suspect-nyc.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [New York](/tag/new-york/) ## New York Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # What We Know About the New York Bomb Attack Suspect  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 12, 2023 11:41 PM CUTPublished: Dec 11, 2017 4:07 PM CUT  Police secure Eighth Avenue outside the Port Authority Bus Terminal following an explosion near New York's Times Square on Dec. 11, 2017. Police secure Eighth Avenue outside the Port Authority Bus Terminal following an explosion near New York's Times Square on Dec. 11, 2017.Chuck Zoeller—AP  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 12, 2023 11:41 PM CUTPublished: Dec 11, 2017 4:07 PM CUT A man suspected of [setting off an improvised explosive device](http://time.com/5058209/new-york-city-port-authority-times-square-explosion/?xid=homepage "undefined") near New York City’s Port Authority Bus Terminal and Times Square on Monday has been identified by authorities as Akayed Ullah. Four people sustained non-life-threatening injuries in the incident, which authorities are describing as an attempted terrorist attack. Here’s what we know about the suspect Akayed Ullah, who has been taken into custody. ## The suspect has lived in the U.S. since 2011 Ullah, 27, lives in Brooklyn and came to the U.S. from Bangladesh on a family immigrant visa in 2011, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. Ullah is a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. He used an “improvised low-tech explosive devise attached to his body,” law enforcement officers said at a press conference on Monday. They said Ullah intentionally detonated the device around 7:20 a.m. > [](https://twitter.com/SpoxDHS/status/940299627290558464) ## The suspect has been taken into custody Ullah was taken into custody Monday morning and transported to Bellevue Hospital, where he was treated for burns to his hands and abdomen and lacerations on his body. The New York City Fire Department has said all injuries are non-life-threatening. > [](https://twitter.com/FDNY/status/940221127925948416) ## It appears the suspect acted alone “At this point in time, all we know of is one individual who, thank God, was unsuccessful in his aims. There are also no credible and specific threats against New York City at this time,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a press conference Monday morning. Law enforcement officials told the Associated Press that Ullah was inspired by ISIS but did not have direct contact with the group. He told investigators that he wanted to retaliate against the U.S. for launching airstrikes on ISIS targets, and he chose the location of the attack because of Christmas-themed posters in the subway tunnel, the [New York _Times_ reported](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/11/nyregion/explosion-times-square.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5058505/new-york-bomb-attack-suspect/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5058505/new-york-bomb-attack-suspect/"},"headline":"What We Know About the New York Bomb Attack Suspect","datePublished":"2017-12-11T16:07:30.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-12T23:41:40.000Z","description":"He has been identified as 27-year-old Akayed Ullah","url":"https://time.com/5058505/new-york-bomb-attack-suspect/","keywords":["New York","Transportation","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1b98221c3d148a8f/6988f48d86f68e9e786e787f/port-authority-explosion-suspect-nyc.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1b98221c3d148a8f/6988f48d86f68e9e786e787f/port-authority-explosion-suspect-nyc.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"NYC Subway Platform Explosion","caption":"NYC Subway Platform Explosion","creditText":"Chuck Zoeller—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/new-york/","name":"New York"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5058505/new-york-bomb-attack-suspect/","name":"What We Know About the New York Bomb Attack Suspect"}}]}] ```