NEW YORK _ An explosive device was detonated near Times Square during the morning rush hour Monday, injuring four people and snarling Manhattan transit, authorities said. "This was an attempted terrorist attack," Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
New York City Police Commissioner James P. O'Neill said in a news conference that the suspect, a 27-year-old man identified as Akayed Ullah, was wearing an "improvised low-tech explosive device" attached to his body, which he intentionally detonated.
The explosion went off in an underground passageway that connects two subway lines on 42nd Street in midtown Manhattan at approximately 7:20 a.m.
The suspect, who is in custody, sustained burns to his hands and abdomen and was taken to Bellevue Hospital. Three other people in the area sustained minor injuries, such as ringing in the ears and headaches, New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said.
Authorities said the incident, which was captured on transit system video, appeared to be an isolated one.
"There are no additional known incidents at this time," said de Blasio. "All we know of is one individual who, thank God, was unsuccessful in his aims.
"The terrorists will not win," he added. "We're going to continue being New Yorkers. Let's get back to work."
O'Neill did not go into the suspect's background. Asked whether he invoked Islamic State, O'Neill said he "did make statements" but would provide no further details. Deputy Police Commissioner John Miller described the device as a pipe bomb that was strapped to the suspect using Velcro and zip ties.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told MSNBC that Ullah had searched for information on the web about how to make a bomb.
"Fortunately the bomb was very low-tech," Cuomo said. "It didn't have the desired effect."
Ullah, a lawful permanent resident, was admitted to the U.S. in 2011 on a family immigrant visa, according to a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security. The specific class of visa he had, an F43, is for nieces and nephews of U.S. citizens over 21 years of age, according to a guide on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website.
"This attack underscores the need for Congress to work with the president on immigration reform," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters at a news briefing Monday afternoon.
Sanders pointed out that the president has repeatedly called for an end to "chain migration."
"If his policy had been in place, then the attacker would not have been allowed to come in the country," she said.
Asked whether she had any evidence that Ullah had been radicalized outside the U.S., Sanders said she couldn't discuss those details.
The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission confirmed to several news outlets that from 2012 to 2015, Ullah held a for-hire vehicle driver license, which covers black cabs, liveries and limousines.
Law enforcement officials were canvassing three Brooklyn addresses with possible connections to Ullah, including a residence in the Flatlands neighborhood and another in Kensington, which is home to a large Bangladeshi population.
As of Monday afternoon, Ullah had not been formally charged, but he will likely be prosecuted in federal court.
Monday's attack occurred six weeks after Sayfullo Saipov, who emigrated to the U.S. from Uzbekistan through the diversity visa program, plowed a truck down a pedestrian path on Manhattan's West Side, killing eight people and injuring a dozen others.
In a statement, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the two recent attacks on New York City "were carried out by people who came here as the result of our failed immigration policies that do not serve the national interest" and called for adoption of a merit-based system.
The attack stalled transit at a major commuter hub just as the work week was beginning.
Several subway lines that pass through Times Square and the Port Authority bus terminal were evacuated and others diverted from 42nd Street. Subway service had resumed by late morning, though trains continued to bypass 42nd Street.
The Port Authority bus terminal, located at one end of the passageway where the explosion occurred, had also been shut down but reopened about 9:30 a.m.
Authorities told New Yorkers to expect an increased police presence across the city.
