On Monday morning, New York City’s transit system partially transformed into a chaotic scene following breaking news (as reflected in this MSNBC clip) of an explosion at the Port Authority bus terminal near 42nd Street and 8th Avenue. ABC News quickly confirmed the explosion and added that the incident involved a suspected pipe bomb detonated in a Metro Transit Authority passageway underneath the station, and the local ABC affiliate followed up with more details, including multiple people reported injured when the story broke.
The FDNY confirmed on Twitter that four people have sustained injuries that are “non-life-threatening” in nature.
Update: A total of 4 injuries reported at the scene of an explosion at Port Authority. All injuries are non-life-threatening
— FDNY (@FDNY) December 11, 2017
ABC News soon added that one suspect is in custody and is among the injured. NYPD Commissioner Bill Braton told MSNBC that the suspect is a 27-year-old male from Bangladesh who “acted in the name of ISIS.”
Initial details that spilled forth included street closures around the station and the evacuation of multiple lines, along with several subway disruptions:
Streets are being closed in the vicinity of the Port Authority. There are also the following subway disruptions: 1, 2, 3, N, Q, R, W and 7 trains are bypassing Times Sq-42 St in both directions.
A, C and E trains are bypassing 42 St/Port Authority-Bus Terminal in both directions. There is no 42 St shuttle service in both directions.
CNN also spoke with an eyewitness named Francisco Ramirez, who says that he heard “two explosions” around 7:45am EST:
“From what I saw it sounded like it came from the subway, but I’m just guessing. It was two distinct explosions seconds from each other. As I was making my way toward the outside, I kept getting shoved by cops and there were cops at every entrance blocking and there was police and SWAT everywhere.
This GMA clip shows the law enforcement presence surrounding the terminal.
New video shows heavy police presence outside Port Authority bus terminal in NYC. NYPD are in tactical gear investigating a possible pipe bomb detonated in a passageway below ground: https://t.co/C36dDXVgiu (📹: @GioBenitez) pic.twitter.com/XjSKLvEBf4
— Good Morning America (@GMA) December 11, 2017
Those on the scene also uploaded what they saw on social media.
UPDATE #1 – 10:30am EST: The NYPD has provided more details on the suspect, including a declaration that this was a “terror-related” incident.
UPDATE #2 – 12:00pm EST: Many more details about the suspect and his device have surfaced, and we’ve collected this information here.
This is a developing story, and we will provide additional details as they arrive.