Akayed Ullah: New York bomb suspect's family 'heartbroken' after attempted terror attack

Akayed Ullah allegedly attempted to detonate a homemade bomb strapped to his body at a New York commuter hub
REUTERS
Tom Powell12 December 2017

The family of the man accused of setting off a pipe bomb in a crowded New York subway have said they are "heartbroken".

In a statement, Akayed Ullah's family also said they were outraged by the way officials had treated them, which included pulling a teenage relative from class and questioning him without a parent, guardian or attorney present.

The family said they expected more from the justice system in a statement released by Albert Fox Cahn, legal director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in New York.

They said: "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."

They added: "But we are also outraged by the behavior of law enforcement officials during this investigation."

Ullah, an immigrant from Bangladesh, was the only person seriously injured in the blast during the Monday morning rush hour that sent commuters scurrying in panic.

Law enforcement officials earlier said the pipe bomb was ignited with Christmas lights, matches and a nine-volt battery.

The officials said the short pipe was packed with explosive powder, but did not work as intended and the blast was not powerful enough to turn the pipe into deadly shrapnel.

Law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation said Ullah had looked at Islamic State group propaganda online.

Three other people, including a police officer, suffered minor injuries in the blast.

President Donald Trump said the attack in Manhattan highlighted the need for an immigration overhaul.

Mr Trump said that the US "must fix its lax immigration system, which allows far too many dangerous, inadequately vetted people" into the country.

He pointed to his controversial travel ban as an example of the kind of policy that needs to be put in place, before calling on Congress to end "chain migration," in which family members are permitted to join relatives who have immigrated.

He also said people convicted of terror acts "deserve the strongest penalty allowed by law, including the death penalty in appropriate cases".

The only person seriously wounded Monday was the suspected bomber.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT