NYPD identifies a person of interest in the Brooklyn subway shooting
The New York Police Department said it has identified a person of interest in the subway car shooting that left 10 people shot in Brooklyn Tuesday morning.
Chief James Essig told reporters that a cache of weapons was recovered at the scene, including guns, ammunition, a hatchet, gasoline, and a pair of keys to a U-Haul van. Investigators found the vehicle parked in Brooklyn and have since linked it to a man named Frank R. James, who appears to have rented it in Philadelphia.
Essig described James as a 62-year-old man "with addresses in Wisconsin and Philadelphia."
"We are endeavoring to locate him to determine his connection to the subway shooting, if any," he said.
Essig offered several new details about the shooting, which occurred just before 8:30 a.m.
"As that N train was between stations at 59th Street and 36th Street, seated in the second car, in the rear corner was a dark skin male," Essig said during an evening press conference. "As the train pulled into the station, witness say the man opened up two smoke grenades, brandishes a Glock 9mm handgun he then fired that weapon at least 33 times."
While investigators have received a variety of descriptions of the shooter's height, officials said witness accounts confirm he was wearing an orange and green construction-style nylon vest. He also had on a grey hoodie, a surgical mask and a neon green construction helmet.
Earlier in the day, officials said the gunman had put on a gas mask before setting off the smoke cannisters then opened fire striking multiple people on the subway and on the platform.
Officials say they are still searching for a motive in the attack.
They are offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to James.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said New Yorkers' "sense of tranquility and normalness was disrupted — brutally disrupted — by an individual so cold-hearted and depraved of heart that they had no caring about the individuals that they assaulted."
WNYC broadcast engineer Juliana Fonda said she was on the N train when she heard the shots.
"People were pounding and looking behind them, running, trying to get onto the train," Fonda said. "The door locked between cars and the people behind us, there were a lot of loud pops and there was smoke in the other car."
A handful of nearby schools went into lockdown following the gunfire, including PS 24.
Alexandra Miranda, a 7-year-old student at the elementary school, recalled the scene in her classroom, telling NPR, "They had to shut all of the doors and teachers couldn't go in or out because something was happening outside."
The incident on Tuesday adds to a jump in violent crime in the subway during the pandemic, while subway ridership remains well below pre-pandemic levels.
Earlier, published reports cited fire officials and law enforcement sources saying several undetonated devices were also found. Sewell told reporters that there are currently no known explosive devices on subway trains.
New Yorkers have been warned to avoid the Sunset Park area. Following the shooting, power was shut off on various lines, and major delays were expected throughout the city.
This is a developing story. Some facts reported by the media may later turn out to be wrong. We will focus on reports from police officials and other authorities, credible news outlets and reporters who are at the scene, and we will update as the situation develops.
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Transcript
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
At least five people were shot this morning in a Brooklyn subway station. The shooting happened at rush hour in the Sunset Park neighborhood. WNYC reporter Stephen Nessen joins us now from the scene. Hi, Stephen.
STEPHEN NESSEN, BYLINE: Hi there.
FADEL: So, Stephen, what do you know so far about what happened?
NESSEN: Well, like you said, five people have been shot. 12 injured. What we know - what we understand at this point is around 8:30 this morning, a train going north, like you said, from Sunset, Brooklyn - very working-class neighborhood - was heading in and there were reportedly gunshots. We heard that from eyewitnesses that were on the train. There was smoke that followed that. So that's what is known. There was a lot of chaos and confusion. I spoke with an eyewitness who was on a train that was pulling into the station just after the shooting. And two people who had been shot were transferred onto her train.
FADEL: Oh, my gosh.
NESSEN: I saw the video that she shot. One person had blood on their chest. Another woman was laid out on a subway car with blood on her shoulder. The woman said there was a man on the train who's a doctor who ran over and was tending to her. And when the train actually - it went one more stop. It was only, like, a two-minute, you know, ride. When they pulled out - when they pulled in, everyone rushed out. It was total pandemonium. They still didn't know if it was a bomb or what.
FADEL: Yeah.
NESSEN: And people lost their backpacks and their shoes and their glasses. Everyone was just rushing to get out of the station. When she got out, she saw another man who had blood coming out of his head. All those folks, obviously, have been transferred to the hospital at this point. But it was a lot of chaos. And we still don't have an arrest in the incident. We're just waiting now for police to brief the press on the latest. But from what we're told, there no arrest yet in this case.
FADEL: So no suspect in custody, a lot that's unknown about what happened. I mean, people you talk to must have been terrified. They were just on their way to work like a normal day. Tell us about this - sort of how people are feeling.
NESSEN: Right. Well, the woman I spoke with and other folks - it was quite shocking. Of course, any time there's a shooting, it's shocking. But this is not, like, a high-profile - it's not, like, Times Square or any of the places where you would think, like, there might be an incident.
FADEL: Right.
NESSEN: This is a sleepy, kind of working-class, immigrant neighborhood. And so folks were surprised. On the other hand, as you probably know, there is an uptick in crime in the city. There has been an uptick in shootings, as well, several fatal. And the subways also have been a focus point for several high-profile attacks. A woman was shoved down the train tracks this year. People have been stabbed. There have been shootings on the train, you know, this year. So it's not like it's out of context or, you know, totally unexpected for this to happen. We are in the middle of somewhat of a crime, you know, increase. And there has been a renewed focus on policing in the subways. The mayor himself added thousands of more patrols to the subways to crack down on crime in the subway.
FADEL: Is there a...
NESSEN: So this is the context for which this is happening.
FADEL: Is there a person of interest? Are the police looking for a specific person and a description?
NESSEN: There's been a lot of reports. We haven't gotten an official description of any sort of suspect. I've certainly seen social media reports that this person was wearing a vest, maybe a gas mask. But that's speculation at this point. The police are going to give a briefing shortly. There is a school here, by the way, right across the street, which is on lockdown. And police have been going into the local shops, getting surveillance video. I've seen them do that at several locations.
FADEL: Thank you so much.
NESSEN: But we don't have a description yet. Thank you.
FADEL: That's Stephen Nessen of member station WNYC reporting from Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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