A bomb exploded at the start of Monday morning rush hour at the city's transportation hub and a man, said to be of Bangladeshi-origin, was arrested as a suspect, according to media reports.
Retired New York detective, Wally Zeins, told WNYW Fox TV that according to his contacts in the police department, the suspect was from Bangladesh and lived in Brooklyn.
WPIX TV also reported that according to police, the suspect was of Bangladeshi origin and he was injured when the explosive device went off and is hospitalised.
He came to the US seven years ago from Bangladesh, WABC TV reported.
Officials did not name the suspect, but said that he was in his 20s.
The bomb, which was likely a pipe bomb, did not cause much damage. Initial reports said that only four people were injured.
This is the second terrorist attack on New York in less than two months. A terrorist drove a truck into pedestrians near the World Trade Center on October 31, killing eight people.
The explosion took place in a passageway connecting trains in the Times Square underground metro system adjoining the interstate bus terminal disrupting the modern commute for thousands of New Yorkers.
The Port Authority Bus Terminal was evacuated and shut down as scores buses headed to the city from suburbs and other states. The Times Square subway station, the city's busiest was closed.
What other reports say:
The suspect was wearing an improvised low-tech explosive device and it apparently didn't go off as planned.
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio was quoted as saying that incident is an "attempted terrorist attack."
Reuters reports:
"There was a stampede up the stairs to get out," said Diego Fernandez, one of the commuters at Port Authority. "Everybody was scared and running and shouting."
The scenes in #Manhattan right now. Remain vigilant and safe everyone. pic.twitter.com/zb5Ac4MArI
— Shmuli Brown (@UniRabbi) December 11, 2017
The bus terminal was temporarily closed, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a Twitter statement.
News of the incident jarred financial markets as trading was getting underway for the week. Standard & Poor's 500 index emini futures ESv1 pared gains, the dollar weakened against the yen JPY= and US Treasury securities prices gained on a modest flight-to-safety bid.
The incident occurred less than two months after an Uzbek immigrant killed eight people by speeding a rental truck down a New York City bike path, in an attack for which Islamic State claimed responsibility.
In September 2016, a man injured more than two dozen people when he set off a homemade bomb in New York's Chelsea district.
