Akayed Ullah, the 27-year-old identified by police as the suspected New York bomber, was being treated at a local hospital for burns to his hands and abdomen on Monday after the crude pipe bomb that was strapped to his body exploded.

Three other people sustained non-life threatening injuries in the attack, police said.

Ullah is a Bangladeshi national who emigrated to the United States in 2011 with a F-43 family visa, the White House confirmed. That means a family member living in the US would have sponsored his application.

Timeline Major terror attacks in the US Show Los Angeles International Airport Hesham Muhammad Hadayet, an Egyptian national with a green card giving him permanent status in the United States, killed two people and wounded four at Los Angeles International Airport. Hadayet also died. Little Rock, Arkansas Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, an American-born convert to Islam, opened fire on an army recruiting office in Little Rock, Arkansas. Muhammad killed one soldier and wounded another. Muhammad, who previously lived in Yemen, claimed to be a member of al-Qaida. Muhammad eventually pled guilty to avoid the death penalty. Fort Hood, Texas Army major Nidal Hasan opened fire in the Soldier Readiness Processing Center at Fort Hood, Texas. The American-born Hasan killed 13 soldiers and wounded 32. Hasan was paralyzed in the attack. At his trial, he declared himself to be at war with America and investigators found that although he acted alone, he had accessed jihadist websites. Hasan was sentenced to death and is currently incarcerated in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Boston Marathon bombing The Boston Marathon attack was carried out by two brothers, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev. The bomb killed three people and injured 264. The two later killed an MIT police officer. In addition, in a firefight between the brothers and the police, 16 officers were injured and another later died. Tamerlan died after he was shot by police and his brother ran over him in a car in an attempt to escape. Dzhokhar was apprehended and sentenced to death. The two Kyrgyz-American immigrants had been self-radicalized but learned to make their bomb from the al-Qaida online magazine Inspire. Navy reserve center Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez attacked a marine recruiting office and US Navy reserve center. He killed four marines and one seaman before police killed him. Abdulazeez was an American citizen born in Kuwait. Former FBI director James Comey said Abdulazeez was “motivated by foreign terrorist organization propaganda.” San Bernandino Syed Rizwan Farook and Tasheen Malik opened fire at the San Bernandino County Department of Public Health. Fourteen people died and 24 were injured. Farook was born in the United States and Malik was a Pakistani immigrant. The two were killed by police. The FBI described them as “homegrown violent extremists”. Pulse nightclub American-born Omar Mateen killed 49 people and wounded 58 at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. In calls made during his rampage, Mateen pledged allegiance to Isis. He was killed by police. New York truck attack A man drove a truck into people on the Hudson River bike path, killing eight and injuring 11. Sayfullo Saipov, a 29-year-old immigrant from Uzbekistan, has pleaded not guilty to murder.

He had a taxi and limousine license dated from 2012 until its expiration in 2015, according to the city’s licensing commission.

Handout photo of Akayed Ullah. Photograph: Handout/Reuters

But little else has been confirmed about the suspect since a press conference held by city officials on Monday morning.

Authorities are treating the bombing as “an attempted terror attack”, said the city mayor Bill De Blasio. New York City police commissioner James O’Neill said the suspect “did make statements” but declined to elaborate when asked if Ullah was connected to the Isis terror group.

The Associated Press reported that he was inspired by Islamic State but may not have had any direct contact with the group, citing law enforcement sources.

The NYPD declined a request to provide more information on the suspect.

Public records indicate Ullah lived in Brooklyn and police were investigating an apartment building in the Kensington neighbourhood early on Monday afternoon.

An officer wearing a bomb squad vest and a helmet, carrying a set of bolt cutters, entered the building along with a man wearing a FBI jacket and other police officers.

Witnesses said a Swat team had earlier entered the six-storey building, at the side of the busy Ocean Parkway, which runs north-south through this section of Brooklyn.

Police were also reportedly present at a property about half a mile away, also said to be linked to Ullah. The NYPD did not give out public information on the operations.

Ullah’s immigration status was seized on by the White House during a press briefing on Monday afternoon. The Trump administration, with its hardline stance on immigration, has advocated for a crackdown on certain visas classes.

“We must move to a merit based system of immigration,” said White House press secretary Sarah Sanders on Monday.

She added: “I think that the president is certainly concerned that Congress, particularly Democrats, have failed to take action in some places where we feel we could have prevented this. Specifically, the president’s policy has called for an end to chain migration. And if that had been in place, that would have prevented this individual from coming to the United States.”