Who is New York City bomb suspect Akayed Ullah?
NEW YORK (FOX5NY) - The NYPD identified the suspect in the New York City subway bombing as Akayed Ullah, an immigrant from Bangladesh who lives in Brooklyn. He has been in the United States for about seven years.
Police said Ullah was wearing what was described as a crude explosive device strapped to his body. It exploded while he walked in an underground passageway, police said.
The 27-year-old reportedly made statements about ISIS while being transported to the hospital with burns on his hands and abdomen. Law enforcement sources told the Associated Press that Ullah did not appear to have any direct contact with the Islamic State group.
In a message on his Facebook page before the attack, court documents say Ullah posted: "Trump you failed to protect your nation".
Authorities say they found a passport in Ullah's name that had "O America, die in your rage" written on it.
Police and federal agents came to a home in the Flatlands section of Brooklyn where neighbors said they have seen Ullah on a daily basis. But his family, in a statement, said he hasn't lived there in years.
Several members of Ullah's family do live there. Authorities escorted them away and then searched the premises.
They were likely looking for evidence connected to the incident and point to any connections to international terror groups, according to former NYPD Detective Zeins.
"We are heartbroken by this attack on our city today and by the allegations being made against a member of our family," Ullah's family said in a statement issued through the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "Our Family like all families is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all New Yorkers."
Police also came to on a building on Ocean Parkway reportedly tied to the suspect and/or members of his family. Then the Bomb Squad closed a stretch of Coney Island Avenue near Avenue C at a gas station. Various law enforcement agents appeared to speak with a woman and a child.
In their statement, Ullah's family said they are outraged by how law enforcement had treated them during the investigation.
"Today, we have seen our children, as young as 4 years old, held out in the cold, detained as their parents were questioned. One teenage relative was pulled out of high school classes and interrogated without a lawyer, without his parents," the family said in the statement. "These are not the actions that we expect from our justice system, and we hope to see better in the days and weeks to come."
The New York City Taxi and Limosuine Commission said that Ullah was licensed to drive a livery cab from 2012 to 2015 but whether he actually worked as a driver is unclear.