The family of a man accused of setting off a pipe bomb in a crowded New York City subway corridor says it’s heartbroken and deeply saddened by the suffering the attack has caused.
In a statement, Akayed Ullah’s family also says it’s outraged by the way it was targeted by law enforcement, including pulling a teenage relative from class and questioning him without a parent, guardian or attorney present. The family says it expects more from the justice system.
The statement was released on behalf of the family by Albert Fox Cahn, legal director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in New York.
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 say a pipe bomb that exploded in a crowded New York City subway passageway was ignited with a Christmas light, matches and a nine-volt battery.
The officials say the short pipe was packed with explosive powder but didn’t work as intended. The blast wasn’t powerful enough to turn the pipe into deadly shrapnel.
Authorities have identified the attacker as Akayed Ullah, an immigrant from Bangladesh.
JUST IN: Family of NYC terror attack suspect releases statement, saying they’re “outraged” by actions of law enforcement – WABC pic.twitter.com/H6FTQlMEjD
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) December 11, 2017
Law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation say he had looked at Islamic State group propaganda online and told investigators he was retaliating against U.S. military aggression.
CNN reports Ullah was motivated by recent Israeli actions in Gaza, a law enforcement source said. The suspect was upset, in his words, with the “incursion into Gaza,” the source said, but did not elaborate on what incursion he may have been alluding to.
The blast during the Monday morning rush hour injured three people besides Ullah, who’s being treated at a hospital.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Jeff Sessions says the pipe bomb explosion in New York City’s subway system and an earlier attack in Manhattan highlight the nation’s “failed immigration policies.”
Sessions says the Monday blast shows the need for immigration reform. Authorities say a man who came to the U.S. from Bangladesh seven years ago set off a pipe bomb strapped to his body in a subway corridor near Times Square. He was injured along with three others.
President Donald Trump said the attack highlights the need for an immigration overhaul.
Trump said Monday that the U.S. “must fix its lax immigration system, which allows far too many dangerous, inadequately vetted people” into the country.
The Republican president points to his controversial travel ban as an example of the kind of policy that needs to be put in place. And he’s calling on Congress to end “chain migration,” in which family members are permitted to join relatives who have immigrated.
He also says people convicted of terror acts “deserve the strongest penalty allowed by law, including the death penalty in appropriate cases.”
Sessions says relatives of U.S. citizens shouldn’t get priority ahead of “someone who is high-skilled, well educated, has learned English, and is likely to assimilate and flourish here.”
He says a merit-based immigration system would be safer.
His comments are similar to those made by a White House spokeswoman.
(AP)
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One Response
You know what? If your son tries to blow himself up in the name of ISIS, you don’t get to complain about cops. Funny how none of them had a problem with how they were treated when they decided to import their terrorist of a kid. If you release a statement ” we know our kid just tried to kill hundreds of people, but cops were mean” no one really cares about you and it is obvious that you don’t really care about what your kid did.