There’s been an explosion near Times Square, and this is what we know

News broke this morning, December 11th, that authorities are responding to an explosion at Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City — right by the iconic Times Square. The bus station is one of the busiest commuter hubs in the city.

The most recent reports state that the explosion occurred at 7:20 a.m. EST in a pedestrian underpass that connects 7th and 8th avenue. The explosion filled the underpass with smoke. false

According to authorities, a suspect named Akayed Ullah, a Bengali immigrant, is already in police custody, and is currently being treated at Bellevue Hospital Center for burns on his abdomen. He is apparently in serious condition.  The New York Times reports that four other people were injured, though the injuries were minor.

Early reports indicate that the explosion may have been due to a pipe bomb that went off earlier than intended, and it is currently unclear if Ullah intended to kill himself in the explosion.

A witness on the scene named Francisco Ramirez told CNN that he heard two explosions as he was exiting a bus at Port Authority.  He said,

"From what I saw it sounded like it came from the subway, but I'm just guessing. It was two distinct explosions seconds from each other. As I was making my way toward the outside, I kept getting shoved by cops and there were cops at every entrance blocking and there was police and SWAT everywhere. It was scary. It was just a lot of chaos but I didn't see any injuries."

We’ll be monitoring the situation as it unfolds.