Akayed Ullah: What we know about the NYC explosion suspect – Kevin McCoy (usatoday.com) / Dec 11 2017
NEW YORK — A 27-year-old Brooklyn, N.Y., resident is being held after he allegedly detonated a device in a bustling subway passage beneath the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan.
What we know now about the suspect:
Where’s he from?
Akayed Ullah is from Bangladesh and appears to have lived in Brooklyn after emigrating from there on a family immigrant visa in 2011. He is a lawful permanent resident, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Where is he being held?
Ullah is in custody at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan where he is in serious condition, police said. Police Commissioner James O’Neill described Ullah’s injuries as burns and lacerations to the hands, face and abdomen.
Was this an attempted suicide bombing?
Authorities did characterize the event as an attempted suicide bombing. Ullah detonated an explosive device around 7:20 a.m. ET that was affixed to his body, police said.
MTA surveillance footage captured the incident, which O’Neill said “was intentionally detonated.”
Ullah acted alone, police said.
What motivated the attack?
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria inspired Ullah. But he apparently had no direct contact with the terrorist group.
Did Ullah have a criminal history?
He does not have an arrest record, CBS News reported.
What did he do for a living?
He had a vehicle-for-hire license from New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission from March 2012 to March 2015 but did not renew it when it expired, according to Allan Fromberg, deputy commissioner and commission spokesman. At that time, the license restricted him to driving a black car or limousine, not a yellow cab.
“I have no way of knowing whether he drove for any particular base, or whether he simply got the license but didn’t drive at all,” Fromberg said.
https://twitter.com/KeldyOrtiz/status/940288945228787713
Did he have ties to other Bangladeshi communities?
“This is an isolated incident,” said Shahin Khalique, a Bengali immigrant elected to the Paterson, N.J., City Council in 2016. “We are law-abiding citizens. There isn’t any connection to anybody in Paterson. I don’t think there will be any backlash.”
During the past two decades, Paterson has drawn thousands of Bengladeschi immigrants. Students from Bengali families often are among the top academic achievers in the school district.
“I pray for the families of the people affected,” Khalique said.
Before Khalique’s victory, another Bengali immigrant, Mohammed Akhtaruzzman, held the city’s 2nd Ward City Council seat.
The suspect may be an “extremist,” Akhtaruzzaman said.
“He must be crazy or something,” the former councilman said. “You have to be out of your mind to do something like this.”
PB/TK – As of now, Authorities do not know if Ullah had any contact with ISIS. Sure they can search his computer, emails, and other gadgets to find out, but sometimes it’s an actual face to face conversation. Who knows, he may have been sympathetic to their cause without any affiliation as well. Right now, even though he is technically a citizen under VISA law, they are best not to read him is Maranda rights and charge him as a enemy combatant to get more info from him, once he’s been read his rights his lips are sealed.
