New York City, the largest and most populous city in the United States, has been the target of numerous acts of terrorism throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. The city, in particular, was one of the targets of the September 11 attacks, the single deadliest terrorist attack in history, which saw the destruction of the World Trade Center and the loss of 2,753 lives. The most recent fatal terrorist incident was a vehicle-ramming attack in Lower Manhattan, which killed eight people and injured eleven on October 31, 2017.
Incidents 20th century Date Method Perpetrator Motive DescriptionJuly 4, 1914Bombing Premature explosion of bombs stored by Anarchist Black CrossPlanned to blow up John D. Rockefeller's home in Tarrytown, New York420A large quantity of dynamite, and a lot of guns in a backpack which was apparently being used to construct a bomb to blow up John D. Rockefeller's Tarrytown home, exploded prematurely at a new seven-story model tenement on Lexington Avenue in East Harlem, Manhattan, killing three conspirators and another renter who was not part of the bomb plot.September 16, 1920Bombing (animal-borne)Unknown; suspected to be Galleanist anarchistsPossible revenge for the arrests of Sacco and Vanzetti and/or the deportation of Luigi Galleani38143A bomb exploded on September 16, 1920, in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City. The blast killed 38 people and seriously injured 143, and the total number of injured was in the hundreds. The bombing was never solved, although investigators and historians believe the Wall Street bombing was carried out by Galleanists (Italian anarchists), a group responsible for a series of bombings the previous year.1940 to 1956BombingsGeorge MeteskyResent toward old workplace injury015Between 1940 and 1956, Metesky planted at least 33 bombs, of which 22 exploded, injuring 15 people. He had been angry and resentful about events surrounding a workplace injury suffered years earlier.July 27 to November 12, 1969BombingsSam MelvilleAnti-war activism020Melville committed a series of eight bombings on various buildings in New York City in 1969. Most of these bombs detonated during the night and did not injure anyone, but one bombing occurred on the 8th floor of the Marine Midland Building in the Financial District on August 20, 1969, injuring 20 people.March 6, 1970BombingWeather UndergroundPlanned to blow up sites in the New York area as part of opposition to Vietnam War32On March 6, 1970, a bomb being assembled by American radical left group Weather Underground accidentally exploded at West 11th Street in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, killing three members and injuring two other members.January 24, 1975BombingFALNRetaliation for bombing in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico450+A bomb planted in Fraunces Tavern in the Financial District exploded on January 24, 1975, killing four people and injuring more than 50 others. The Puerto Rican freedom fighters "Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional Puertorriqueña" (Armed Forces of Puerto Rican National Liberation, or FALN), which had executed other bomb incidents in New York in the 1970s, claimed responsibility. No one had been prosecuted for the bombing as of April 17, 2013.December 29, 1975Bombing UnknownUnknown1174 A bomb near the TWA baggage reclaim terminal in LaGuardia Airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, killed 11 and seriously injured 74. The bombing was never solved, with several suggested perpetrators, although investigators and historians believe that Croatian nationalists were the most likely.September 11, 1976BombingCroatian nationalistsSought Croatian independence from Yugoslavia130A group of Croatian nationalists planted a bomb in a coin locker at Grand Central Terminal on September 11, 1976. The group also hijacked TWA Flight 355. After stating their political demands, they revealed the location and provided the instructions for disarming the Grand Central Terminal bomb. The disarming operation was not executed properly and the resulting explosion wounded over 30 and killed one NYPD bomb squad specialist.August 3, 1977BombingFALNSought Puerto Rican independence from United States17Two bombs exploded in Manhattan office buildings. The first bomb exploded in the offices of the US Department of Defense at 9:37am, but the bomb had been detected and people moved to safety. There were no injuries. The second bomb exploded about an hour later in the offices of Mobil Oil Corporation - killing one person and injuring seven. TV stations and newspapers had been contacted that morning with warnings that bombs had been placed in more offices throughout Manhattan leading to the evacuation of 100,000 office workers throughout the borough. February 26, 1993 Truck bombing Ramzi Yousef, Eyad Ismoil, other co-conspirators Islamic terrorism 6 1,042 On February 26, 1993, a urea nitrate–hydrogen gas enhanced device was detonated at the World Trade Center by Ramzi Yousef and Eyad Ismoil, with the intent of sending the North Tower (Tower 1) crashing into the South Tower (Tower 2), thus bringing both towers down and killing tens of thousands of people. in vengeance for America's support for Israel against Palestine. It failed to do so but killed six people and injured over a thousand.March 1, 1994 February 23, 1997Shooting ShootingRashid Baz Ali Hassan Abu KamalIslamic Terrorism Palestinian nationalism (Islamic terrorism)1 23 6On March 1, 1994, Ari Halberstam was shot on the Brooklyn Bridge while riding in a School Bus with Hebrew lettering. Ari Halberstam was declared dead from this attack on March 6, 1994. 3 other students were injured in the gun fire. On February 23, 1997, Kamal, a 69-year-old Palestinian teacher, opened fire on the observation deck of the Empire State Building in Midtown Manhattan The gunman killed one person and wounded six others before taking his own life with a gunshot to the head.
21st century