Akayed Ullah: What we know about the NYC explosion suspect

Akayed Ullah, a 27-year-old Brooklyn man, is being held after he allegedly detonated a device in a bustling subway passage beneath the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan. 

Here's what we know about the suspect:

Where is he from?

Ullah is from Bangladesh and has lived in southern Brooklyn, according to a copy of his New York drivers license. Ullah entered the U.S. on an F43 family visa in 2011, government officials confirmed. The family-based visa is available to foreign immigrants who have a brother or a sister who are American citizens.

"The suspect is a Lawful Permanent Resident from Bangladesh who benefited from extended family chain migration," said Tyler Houlton, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security.

On Monday afternoon, police blocked off the East 48th Street between Avenue N and Avenue M in the Old Mill Basin section of Brooklyn where Ullah lives. The NYPD Bomb Squad unit is on scene.

Ullah's mother has been detained for questioning, police on scene said. 

Police on scene also said they don't have a search warrant yet to enter the home. 

Federal agents detained suspect's brother who was in Coney Island, police on scene said

Where is he being held?

Ullah is in custody at Bellevue Hospital where he is in serious condition, police said. NYPD police commissioner James O'Neill described Ullah's injuries as burns and lacerations to the hands, face and abdomen.

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Was this a terror attack? 

Authorities said it was an attempted suicide bombing. Ullah detonated an explosive device around 7:20 a.m. that was affixed to his body with hook and loop and zip ties, police said. MTA surveillance footage captured the incident, which Police Commissioner James O'Neill said "was intentionally detonated." 

The device was described as crudely-made, though the suspect appeared to have some background in electrical work.

Ullah acted alone, police said.

Police are asking anyone who may have any information about him or the incident to call a terror hotline at 888-NYC-SAFE.

What motivated the attack?

According to published reports, Ullah told investigators that he carried out the attack for revenge, citing incidents in his native Bangladesh. The Associated Press is reporting that Ullah was inspired by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), but apparently had no direct contact with the terrorist group, according to law enforcement sources. 

The suspect has told investigators that he specifically timed the assault to coincide with the Christmas season for the greatest possible impact, lashing out in the name of ISIS, said a law enforcement official who is not authorized to comment publicly while the investigation is ongoing.

The official said Ullah has been cooperating with authorities from the New York City Police Department and the FBI who interrogated him extensively at the hospital.

Ullah expected to die in the attack and believed that others would perish with him, the official said.

The official said the suspect waived his rights to counsel before speaking with investigators.

Investigators had seized at least one cell phone and were examining whether he had contacts with others. But the official said the investigation so far indicated that the suspect appeared to be acting alone.

What about his family?

Late Monday afternoon, a man came outside a home on Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn, where the suspect is believe to have lived, to read a statement. 

"We are heartbroken by the violence that was targeting at our city today and by the allegations being made against a member of our family," said Albert Fox Cahn, legal director for NY Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations. "But we are also outraged by the behavior of the law enforcement officials who have held children as small as 4 years old out in the cold and who pulled a teenager out of high school classes to interrogate him without a lawyer, without his parents. These are not the sort of actions that we expect from our justice system and we have every confidence that our justice system will find the truth behind this attack and that we will in the end be able to learn what occurred today."

Cahn did not take any questions from reporters.

Did Ullah have a criminal background?

CBS is reporting that Ullah had no criminal history. He had a New York taxi license that expired, the network reported. 

What did he do for a living?

Ullah held a New York City "For-Hire Vehicle Driver’s License" from March 2012 through March 2015, at which time it lapsed and was not renewed, said Allan Fromberg a spokesman for the Taxi and Limousine Commission.  The license allowed the driver to work as an independent contractor driving a black car, community livery, or limousine, but not a yellow taxi. "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.   

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Did he have any ties to N.J.'s Bangladeshi community?

There has been no indication that Ullah has any connection to the large Bangladeshi community in Paterson.

"This is an isolated incident," said Shahin Khalique, a Bengali immigrant who was elected to the Paterson 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."

"I pray for the families of the people affected," Khalique added.

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. Prior to Khalique's victory in 2016, another Bengali immigrant, Mohammed Akhtaruzzman, held the city's 2nd Ward city council seat.

"This is not something you see in our community," Akhtaruzzaman said of Monday's attack. "We don't have that problem."

Akhtaruzzaman said the suspect may be an "extremist." "He must be crazy or something," said the former councilman. "You have to be out of your mind to do something like this."

What is the scene like in his Brooklyn neighborhood?

Diane Clark, a secretary at Brooklyn Realty, located several doors down from the street where the Ulllah lives, said she was scared when she opened the office at 9 a.m. The street was swarming with police and it was her first day back from vacation.

“Nothing like this has ever happened here,” Clark said. “To come in this morning and find out this is happening right around the corner from where you work is a little mind-blowing.”

Clark has worked at Brooklyn Realty for 13 years and lives four blocks from the office. She said the neighborhood has remained middle-class and “mixed” in the 20 years she’s lived there. Police activity is rare.

“All our business neighbors get along and you never see any police activity apart from the summer when kids get a little rowdy at the park across the street,” Clark said. “I pass people every day, they say ‘good morning’ and ‘good night’ and I say it back. I always try to be gracious.”

Clark said news of the bomber’s connection to the area has made her pause.

“I have to be more aware of my surroundings,” she said. “You never know who you’re living with.”

An employee at a nearby locksmith recognized the suspect's photo. 

"The only interaction I have with him is to move his car," the employee said. "He has a lot of people living in the house."

Phillip Noel was shocked got to learn Ullah lives within a block of his grandmother’s house.

Noel said the area is “very quiet” and hasn’t seen such police commotion since a liquor store robbery closed off the block about six years ago.

"You don’t expect this to be cultivated in your own backyard, in your own neighborhood, literally my backyard," said Noel, who has lived off and on in the neighborhood in recent years.  

Noel said he worried about the safety of his grandmother, who walks the neighborhood streets frequently, as well as those of his neighbors. Noel said the community is tight-knit and he knows the name of all his neighbors, five to ten doors down, in every direction.

“I just want everyone to feel safe around here,” Noel said. “This is not something that is going to calm the nervousness of people, it’s going to heighten it, make people look over their shoulder.”

Noel said he’s eager for a return to normalcy.

“I’m very fond of the neighborhood and hope it can go back to being as quiet as it’s always been,” he said.

Staff Writers Monsy Alvarado, Rodrigo Torrejon and Keldy Ortiz along with USA Today reporters Kevin Johnson and Kevin McCoy contributed to this article.