Dec 12, 2017

NYC bombing suspect hit with terror charges

Alayna Treene

Police block off the street in the Brooklyn borough of New York where officials say Akayed Ullah was living. Photo: Michael Noble Jr. / AP

Akayed Ullah, the 27-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant arrested for detonating a pipe bomb in New York City Monday, has been charged with criminal possession of a weapon, supporting an act of terrorism, and making terrorist threats, police said Tuesday.

John Miller, NYPD's deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism, told CBS This Morning that Ullah, who told authorities that he carried out the attack in retaliation to the U.S. airstrikes on ISIS in Syria and elsewhere and chose the Christmas season for the greatest possible impact, is similar to terror suspects from around the world: "[S]omebody who turns up one day out of the blue."

Details of the investigation:

James Waters, chief of counterterrorism for the NYPD, told NY1 Tuesday that police executed a number of search warrants overnight on the homes where authorities believe Ullah lived. Police have also questioned several of his relatives.
Waters said that authorities found bomb-making parts in one of the homes where Ullah lives, and that the parts were consistent with what was found on his body during the attack. So far, Waters said Ullah appears to have acted alone.

Statement from his family, provided by the NY chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations: "We are heartbroken by this attack on our city today and by the allegations being made against a member of our family. Our family like all families is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all New Yorkers."

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NYC bombing suspect hit with terror charges

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