Photo: BBC
New York City police have taken into custody a man suspected of shooting ten civilians in an assault at one Brooklyn subway station.
Frank James, 62, allegedly wore a construction worker’s helmet, vest, and a gas mask ahead of tossing smoke grenades and gunning down commuters.
After a thorough 30-hour search for the suspect, police finally caught up with him.
James was arrested on Wednesday afternoon in Manhattan as authorities obtained information about his whereabouts.
“My fellow New Yorkers: we got him,” said Mayor Eric Adams through a video at a news conference.
Officials said James was the only suspect in the attack at Brooklyn’s 36th Street station on Tuesday morning, where 23 people were injured, 10 of which were from the gunshots. The assault reignited outcries to deal with violence in the city’s transit system directly.
New York’s police commissioner Keechant Sewell stated that James was seized “without incident.” But, she added, “There was nowhere left for him to run.”
The authorities have not addressed questions about who tipped them, despite CNN and the AP reports that say the suspect himself passed on his location.
James is scheduled to go on trial for several charges, including violating a federal law that forbids “terrorist and other violent attacks” on public transport locations. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to life imprisonment.
The hunt for James was challenging because of malfunctioning cameras at the subway station. Officials on Wednesday were on the job to identify if one or many cameras installed in the station were damaged.
The suspect had managed to flee from the scene; however, he was connected to the attack via a rented U-Haul van. Rented in Philadelphia, the key to the van was seen at the scene alongside a Glock 9mm handgun, three ammunition magazines, a plastic container holding petrol, and a credit card with James’ name on it, said authorities.
The motive behind the assault is still unclear. Still, police have stated that James had uploaded black nationalist rants online and “made various statements about the New York City subway system,” counting roars about homeless individuals on the subways and “various conspiracy theories,” said court documents.
James is expected to appear in court for the first time on Thursday.
