A suspect has been taken into custody after an explosion at the New York City subway at 42nd St and 8th Avenue, the heavily trafficked stop that serves Times Square and the Port Authority bus terminal, the NYPD said.
The male suspect is the only one injured in the blast, police say, adding to avoid the area. Subways are currently bypassing the stop.
The explosion was reported around 7:30 a.m., and the A, C and E lines were evacuated.
A law enforcement official told the Associated Press that the suspect had a pipe bomb strapped to his body when it detonated. His injuries are not life-threatening.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that President Trump has been briefed on the situation. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo were also briefed.
“When we hear of an attack in the subways, it’s incredibly unsettling,” de Blasio told reporters, per the Washington Post. “And let’s also be clear, this was an attempted terrorist attack. Thank God the perpetrator did not achieve his ultimate goals.”
Cuomo described the bomb as “an effectively low-tech device.”
New York Police Department Commissioner Bill Bratton said on MSNBC that the suspect is possibly from Bangladesh and in his mid-20s. He said the suspect “was supposedly setting the device off in the name of ISIS,” according to preliminary information from police sources.
“So, definitely a terrorist attack. Definitely intended,” Bratton said. “As to whether the device malfunctioned or didn’t function correctly, that will have to be determined.”
New Yorkers can expect increase police activity at all transportation hubs in the city, effective immediately. The Port Authority Bus Station is one of the busiest in the world, and the largest in the United States.
More to come…