One person was in custody after an explosion near New York City’s Port Authority bus terminal during Monday morning’s rush hour — a blast that prompted mass chaos and halted multiple subway lines, the NYPD said.
The person arrested has non-life threatening injuries, The Associated Press reported. No other injuries have been reported, according to the NYPD.
The explosion reportedly occurred around 7:30 a.m. near 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue, NYPD and FDNY officials confirmed to Fox News.
Police are responding to reports of an explosion near Port Authority.
(Greg Norman/Fox News)
The explosion occurred near Port Authority about 7:30 a.m., police said.
(Alex Vros/Fox News)
An NYPD source on the scene told Fox News a device went off and there was a person strapped with a bomb. A law enforcement official also told AP that police believe an explosive device was set off on a Manhattan subway platform.
President Trump had been briefed on the incident, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted. NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio is en route to the scene. Gov. Andrew Cuomo tweeted he was at Port Authority and has been briefed by law enforcement.
Former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton told MSNBC his sources in the department said the explosion was an “ISIS-inspired attack.” Bratton said the suspect was a man in his 20s from Bangladesh.
If the attack is confirmed to be ISIS-inspired, it would be the second ISIS-inspired attack in New York City in less than two months. An Oct. 30 terror attack killed eight people and injured 11 others after a man drove a rented truck into people walking and cycling on a bike path in Lower Manhattan.
Several people wrote on social media shortly after the reports of an explosion there was mass chaos at the bus terminal, some saying there was a “stampede” when the blast was heard.
The NYC Office of Emergency Management also tweeted there was “police activity” near West 42nd Street between Eighth and Ninth avenues and advised commuters to expect delays. Police tweeted the A, C, E subways lines were being evacuated. The terminal is “temporarily closed by authorities” at this time.
Port Authority was temporarily closed on Monday. It is the largest bus terminal in the U.S.
(Alex Vros/Fox News)
Port Authority is the largest bus terminal in the U.S. and about 232,000 commuters go through the area daily. The number of passengers is expected to jump to 337,000 daily by 2040.
Fox News’ Greg Norman contributed to this report.
