13th April, 2022
The New York City Police Department has declared a 62 year-old black man as a person of interest in the shooting of commuters at the city’s subway Tuesday morning.
He set off a smoke bomb and opened fire in a New York subway car, injuring at least 17 people in a morning rush-hour attack.
The suspect was identified as Frank James through a credit card seen at the scene of crime.
The suspect, described by police as a man of heavy build, wearing a green construction-type vest and hooded sweatshirt, remained at large.
“He is a person of interest in the shooting that took place on the N train in Brooklyn Tuesday morning. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call @NYPDTips at 1-800-577-TIPS”, the NYPD tweeted.
At a press conference a reward of $50,000 was announced for information that could lead to his arrest.
Police said the perpetrator, who was seen wearing a gas mask and was believed to have acted alone, immediately fled.
The attack unfolded as a Manhattan-bound subway train on the N line of the underground rail system was pulling into a station in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighbourhood.
Ten people were hit directly by gunfire, including five hospitalized in critical but stable condition, authorities said.
Seven others were injured by shrapnel or otherwise hurt in the chaos as panicked riders fled the smoke-filled subway car, some collapsing to the pavement as they poured onto the platform of the 36th Street station.
The fire department said two of those hurt were treated at the scene.
CNN, Fox News and various local media outlets reported that a U-Haul van that authorities were searching for in connection with the shooting had been located parked on a city street a few miles from the crime scene.
New York Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Keechant Sewell said the shooting was not being investigated as an act of terrorism, though authorities would not rule anything out as a motive.
Sewell said the suspect was seen donning a gas mask in the train car as it was about to enter the station, then removed a canister from his bag and opened it.
“The train at that time began to fill with smoke. He then opened fire, striking multiple people on the subway and in the platform,” she added.
New York, America’s most populous city, has seen a sharp rise in violent crime during the pandemic, including a string of seemingly random attacks on its subways.
The system is one of the world’s oldest and most extensive.
The subway violence has included a number of attacks in which passengers have been pushed onto the tracks from platforms, including a Manhattan woman whose murder was seen as part of a surge in hate-driven attacks against Asian Americans.
Mayor Eric Adams, a former NYPD captain and Brooklyn borough president who took office in January, has vowed to improve subway safety by increasing police patrols and expanding outreach to the mentally ill.