New York

Family of NYC Bombing Suspect: ‘We Are Outraged' by Law Enforcement Response

"These are not the sorts of actions we expect from our justice system"

What to Know

  • The family of Akayed Ullah said it was "outraged by the behavior of law enforcement" following the explosion in a Manhattan subway passage
  • The family claims law enforcement forced a 4-year-old out into the cold and interrogated another relative without a lawyer present
  • Ullah, an immigrant from Bangladesh, was the only person seriously injured in the blast during the Monday morning rush hour

The family of the man accused of detonating a pipe bomb in a busy subway corridor near Manhattan's Port Authority Bus Terminal blasted law enforcement's response in the aftermath of the attack.

The family of Akayed Ullah claimed officers forced a 4-year-old girl in the cold and pulled another teenage relative from his high school class and interrogated him without a parent, guardian or attorney present.

In a statement read by Albert Fox Cahn, the legal director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in New York, the family said it was "outraged by the behavior of law enforcement" following the bombing. 

"These are not the sorts of actions we expect from our justice system," said Cahn.

He added, "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."

Ullah's family also said it's heartbroken and deeply saddened by the suffering the attack has caused.

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. After the attack, police and federal agents fanned out over his Brooklyn neighborhood in search of evidence in the attack. 

A police spokesman said that in an active terror investigation, they need to move quickly to stop any possible follow-up attacks and added that any complaints will be reviewed.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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