2017 New York City Subway bombing: 4 people injured including the bomber. Mayor Bill de Blasio described the incident as "an attempted terrorist attack". The bomber, 27-year-old Bangladeshi national Akayed Ullah, was convicted in 2018 and sentenced to life in prison in 2021.
# Bombing
>At approximately 7:20 a.m., during morning rush hour, a [pipe bomb](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pipe_bomb) partially detonated in an underground corridor connecting the [New York City Subway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_Subway)'s [Times Square–42nd Street](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Square%E2%80%9342nd_Street_station) and [42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/42nd_Street%E2%80%93Port_Authority_Bus_Terminal_station) stations, between the [Seventh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRT_Broadway%E2%80%93Seventh_Avenue_Line) and [Eighth Avenue](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IND_Eighth_Avenue_Line) subway lines. There were four non-life-threatening injuries.
>The suspected bomber was taken to [Bellevue Hospital](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellevue_Hospital) for treatment. According to the city's fire department commissioner, the suspect suffered burns to his hands and torso while three bystanders had "ringing ears and headaches". The bombing severely disrupted subway service for several hours, leading to lower-than-normal ridership that day.
# Perpetrator
[](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Akayed_Ullah.png)**Akayed Ullah**
>After the incident, the [Port Authority Police Department](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Authority_of_New_York_and_New_Jersey_Police_Department) (PAPD) arrested a "would-be suicide bomber" armed with a [pipe bomb](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pipe_bomb) (which was filled with [sugar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar) and [Christmas tree lights](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_tree_lights)) and a battery pack. The suspect was identified as 27-year-old [Brooklyn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn) resident Akayed Ullah (born March 25, 1990).
>Ullah is a [permanent U.S. resident](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_residence_(United_States)). His uncle won a [diversity visa lottery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diversity_Immigrant_Visa) which enabled him to bring Ullah to the United States under the family reunification provisions of the [Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Nationality_Act_of_1965). He was a licensed cab driver from March 2012 to March 2015.
>One year after he arrived in the U.S., his father died. He subsequently converted to [Salafism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salafism) and pressured his family to pray regularly and adopt conservative religious beliefs. Ullah's wife and child live in [Bangladesh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh), where he kept books by [Muhammad Jasimuddin Rahmani](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Jasimuddin_Rahmani), the spiritual leader of extremist group [Ansarullah Bangla Team](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ansarullah_Bangla_Team) which is linked to the terror group [al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Qaeda_in_the_Indian_Subcontinent). Ullah had at times frequented the Masjid Nur Al Islam, a mosque in [Kensington, Brooklyn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kensington,_Brooklyn), which was placed on the NYPD Intelligence Division's "Mosques of Interest" list in 2004. Four members of the mosque are also on the NYPD's "Most Dangerous" list. He wrote handwritten notes on his passport, including "O AMERICA, DIE IN YOUR RAGE." He had posted a warning on [Facebook](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook), "Trump you failed to protect your nation", before the attack. Prosecutors allege he told police after the blast "I did it for the Islamic State."
>After being questioned, Ullah reportedly said he was "following [ISIS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_State_of_Iraq_and_the_Levant) on the internet and reading [*Inspire*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inspire_(magazine)) magazine". Through online instructions, he learned how to make the explosive device. A law enforcement source told CNN that Ullah said he carried out the attack in response to recent Israeli actions in [Gaza](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip) over Donald Trump's [recognition](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_recognition_of_Jerusalem_as_capital_of_Israel) of [Jerusalem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem) as Israel's [capital](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Status_of_Jerusalem).
>The [Associated Press](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Associated_Press), however, reported law enforcement sources told them he was retaliating against U.S. military aggression. Authorities believed he also sought reprisal for [American air attacks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Inherent_Resolve) on Muslims in [Syria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syria) and elsewhere. According to statements by law enforcement officials, reported in [*The New York Times*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times), he chose the [Times Square](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Square) area because of its [Christmas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas)\-themed advertising. During court proceedings, Ullah denied being an ISIS sympathizer, saying he "was angry with Donald Trump because he said he will bomb the Middle East and protect his nation".