List of terrorist incidents in New York City

Date Method Perpetrator Motive K I Description September 11, 2001 Aircraft hijacking suicide attack Al-Qaeda Islamic terrorism 2,996 6,000+ American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, respectively, hijacked and flown into buildings one and two (the “twin towers”) of the World Trade Center. The towers subsequently collapsed due to structural weakening from the impact and subsequent fire. The attack remains the deadliest terrorist attack in world history.^[4][5] March 6, 2008 Bombing Unknown Unknown 0 0 Improvised explosive device detonated in front of a United States Armed Forces recruiting station in Times Square.^[25][26] A bicycling-riding suspect was captured on videotape stopping outside the recruiting station, setting the bomb and lighting the fuse, but the perpetrator was never found, despite an offer of a $115,000 reward from the FBI and New York Police Department for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator.^[26][27] The FBI said in 2015 that the case may be connected to two other unsolved bombings in New York City, both involving bicycle-riding suspects: at the British consulate (2005) and the Mexican consulate (2007).^[27] May 20, 2009 Attempted bombing and military attack “Newburgh Four” Islamic terrorism, antisemitism 0 0 Four men arrested in connection to a plot to shoot down military airplanes at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York, and bomb two synagogues in the Bronx suburb of Riverdale.^[28][29] May 1, 2010 Attempted bombing Faisal Shahzad Islamic terrorism 0 0 Failed car bombing of Times Square, after the device failed to detonate and was disarmed after its discovery. Shahzad was implicated and arrested two days later.^{[30][31][32][33]} October 23, 2014 Stabbing attack Zale H. Thompson Islamic terrorism 1 3 Hatchet attack on four New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers in Jamaica, Queens; two officers were injured in the attack, while a passer-by was injured and the perpetrator killed in the ensuing shoot-out.^[34][35] December 20, 2014 Shooting Ismaaiyl Abdullah Brinsley Anti-police sentiment 3 0 Ambush of two NYPD officers, Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu. Done out of hatred of police following the shootings of Eric Garner and Michael Brown by police officers. The suspect committed suicide after the killings.^[36] April 2, 2015 Attempted bombing Asia Siddiqui and Noelle Velentzas Islamic terrorism 0 0 Siddiqui and Velentzas, former roommates in Jamaica, Queens, were arrested for conspiring to carry out a pressure cooker bombing in New York City, in support of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the ISIL.^[37][38] They were caught as part of an FBI counter-terrorism sting operation.^[39] Both pleaded guilty in 2019 to “teaching and distributing information pertaining to the making and use of an explosive, destructive device, and weapon of mass destruction, intending that it be used to commit a federal crime of violence.”^[40] Siddiqui was sentenced to 15 years in January 2020.^[39] June 13, 2015 Attempted bombing Munther Omar Saleh, Fareed Mumuni, third undisclosed Islamic terrorism 0 0 Saleh, Mumuni, and third unnamed conspirator arrested in connection to a plot to carry out a pressure cooker bombing in New York City in support of the Islamic State.^[41][42][43] September 17, 2016 Bombing Ahmad Khan Rahimi Islamic terrorism 0 31 Rahimi, who was inspired by Osama bin Laden and Anwar al-Awlaki, placed two shrapnel-filled pressure cooker bombs in Chelsea, Manhattan. The first bomb detonated, causing a massive blast in which 30 people were injured by shrapnel. The second bomb failed to explode. Hours earlier, a bomb that Rahimi placed along a race route in Seaside Park, New Jersey. Before being captured by police, Rahimi also planted a backpack full of explosives at a New Jersey Transit station in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Rahimi was convicted by a federal jury of all charges against him for the New York bombs, involving attempted murder, aggravated assault, and weapons offenses. He was given a second life sentence in New Jersey state court for a shootout in which he attempted to kill New Jersey police officers.^[44][45] March 20, 2017 Stabbing attack James Harris Jackson White supremacy 1 0 James Harris Jackson fatally stabbed Timothy Caughman, an African American man, in Hell’s Kitchen, with a replica of a Roman sword. Caughman was the intended first victim of a Jackson’s planned rampage targeting African American men. Jackson, however, turned himself to police after Caughman’s murder instead. In a manifesto, Jackson wrote that he intended to precipitate an apocalyptic “Racial World War” on God’s orders “to eliminate the Negro races from the face of the earth.” Jackson pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.^[46] October 31, 2017 Vehicle-ramming attack Sayfullo Saipov Islamist terrorism inspired by ISIL 8 12 Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov drove a rented pickup truck into cyclists and runners on the Hudson River Park’s bike path in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The attack killed eight people, six of whom were foreign tourists, and injured eleven others. After crashing the truck into a school bus, Saipov exited, apparently wielding two guns (later found to be a paintball gun and a pellet gun). He was shot in the abdomen by a policeman and arrested. A flag and a document indicating allegiance to the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) were found in the truck.^[47] December 11, 2017 Attempted suicide attack Ullah Akayed Islamic terrorism 0 4 Ullah Akayed—a Bangladeshi electrician living in Brooklyn—attempted a suicide bombing at the Times Square–42nd Street/Port Authority Bus Terminal station, armed with wires, a pipe bomb, and 9-volt battery. The improvised weapon malfunctioned; Ullah was seriously injured himself and four people were wounded. In 2018, he was convicted in federal court of six offenses, including using a weapon of mass destruction and bombing a public transportation system. Ullah had become radicalized by consuming ISIL propaganda.^[48][49] April 12, 2022 Mass shooting Frank Robert James Violent extremism 0 29 On the morning of April 12, 2022, Frank Robert James is accused of committed a mass shooting on a northbound N train on the New York City Subway in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, New York, United States. ^[50] The attacker allegedly put on a gas mask, threw two smoke grenades onto the floor of a train car, and opened fire with a Glock 17 9 mm handgun as the train approached the 36th Street station. ^[51] On January 3, 2023, James entered a guilty plea to 10 counts of committing a terrorist attack, and one count of discharging a firearm^[52]