Seems there was a possible pipe bomb that has gone on on the NYC subway. It also seems they have a suspect and that he might have injured himself. Glad it wasn’t a lot worse.
PABT, not the subway.
It could only have improved the place.
friedo that last remark was totally inappropriate.
Edit: I broke the link in this post to avoid confusion. It was a link to an unrelated story. ~ Loach
Early stories weren’t clear on whether the explosion was in the terminal, or beneath in the subways. In fact, the updated CNN piece still doesn’t make it clear – people were pouring out of the subway entrances, which makes it sound like it might have been underground.
I’ve spent a LOT of time in the PABT. It’s not all that bad, and it’s been fixed up in recent years. I could point you to transit stations that are or were a lot worse.
They think that it’s a pipe bomb that went off prematurely, as of this writing. If so, I’m amazed that the suspected bomber is still alive and not seriously injured. Maybe it was not a very good bomb.
What, you like the decor or something?
Enlighten us non-New Yorkers: What is the PABT, and how does it differ from a subway?
Were there two incidents? This article is saying there was a bomb that wasn’t fully assembled. All the other sources are saying there was an explosion.
It sounds from what I’ve heard there was an explosion and he also had one other bomb with him. Maybe the other one was not assembled.
Port Authority Bus Terminal. The various train, bus, and subway stations all connect with underground passages and this sounds like it occurred in a passage near the PABT.
the Port Authority Bus Terminal takes up two city blocks at 42nd street and eighth avenue, a block from Times Square. Not only do buses from all over come in there, but it’s also a major subway nexus, with very extensive tunnels containing shops as well as access to the various subway lines. The tunnels are right under the terminal building, and are effectively its basement. So when someone says there was an explosion in the port Authority Bus Terminal or in the subway structures underneath it’s not so much an either/or as it is a question of whether the explosion was aboveground or underground.
The PABT was my Point of Entry into New York from my New Jersey home – unless I drove in or took the train (rare in either case), any of the buses I took in ended up there. This is also the case for a zillion commuters going into and out of the city. If they’ve closed down the terminal, and it stays closed for hours, this will make for a BITCH of a traffic problem this evening.
The PABT is also now graced with a statue of Jackie Gleason as bus driver Ralph Kramden, courtesy of TV Land. The New York Times is now right across the street.
the latest update says it exploded “in the subway” (by which I expect it means in the warren of underground tunnels I mention above, having access and shops leading to the train platforms, and not aboard a subway train itself), and that it injured four people with “non life-threatening injuries”. It also apparently didn’t kill the suspect, although it was reportedly a pipe bomb and strapped to his chest. That’s surprising. Maybe it wasn’t a very good bomb. Maybe he had some sort of “safety” fittings that prevented complete explosion or dispersal that would be taken off before he actually intentionally detonated it. I suspect we’ll find out soon.
It also says the PABT was “temporarily” shut down, so I assume they’ve either re-opened it, or soon will.
nm
Annie’s link is not to the current event. I asked the mods to break the link.
This is a breaking news story that affects many people possibly including posters. Stop with the jerkish behavior.
Thank God it was another incompetent asshole like the genius who put his pressure-cooker bomb behind a dumpster on 23rd st. last year. If the terrorists were like the baddies on Homeland we’d be screwed.
This is my current situation, as a resident of Jersey City. Scary to read the headline that there were explosions, and grateful I wasn’t commuting in today. It’s very fortunate there were no fatalities!
We all laughed at the idiots who first tried to blow up the World Trade Center. Then a few years later they succeeded. Yes, we should be thankful no one but the asshole was seriously hurt this time, but it may be a sign of things worse to come.
People died in that attack. More than 1000 were injured. Nobody paying any attention was laughing. While what happened today might be a precursor to worse things, it’s more comparable to a moderate traffic accident than the WTC bombing.
Interesting thing – In Dave Barry’s 1995 book Dave Barry’s Guide to Guys he comments on a Guy he knew who was seriously into fireworks, and casually remarks that “If the World Trade Center Bomber had known what he knew, there’d now be a World Trade Hole.” An innocently funny idea in 1995, and a sorta joke about the whole thing (which may have had injuries, but, AFAIK, no fatalities).
Of course, it looks different after Sept of 2001. I’ve looked, but I can’t find any evidence that this book was reprinted after 2001. And all versions I’ve seen still have that line in it.
6 dead, 1,000 injuries.