NEW YORK, NY. (THECOUNT) — Frank R. James has been identified as the suspect in Tuesday morning’s attack at the 36th Street Brooklyn subway station.
Mayor Eric Adams told CNN that 16 people were wounded, 10 from gunshots. The New York Post reported that the suspect’s gun jammed, preventing further carnage.
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Hourari Benkada, 27, told CNN that he was sitting next to the suspect and was shot in the knee. He said it felt like the shooting lasted two minutes. According to the New York Daily News, he told people to “start running” before opening fire, and said “Oops, my bad” after detonating a smoke bomb, reports heavy.
“When [the train] was about to hit 36th Street, we stopped for 5 minutes. He takes out a gas mask from one of his little luggage[s],” a witness told The Post.
“He opened one of his gas tanks, and he said, ‘Oops, my bad.’ He pulls out an ax, he drops it, he takes a gun out, he starts shooting.”
“He started firing randomly into the crowd,” witness Catherine Garcia, 34, told The Daily News. “He probably couldn’t see, because it was black smoke. We just prayed and hoped that he would not just execute us one by one.”
Latest on NYC subway shooting incident starting in minutes at 4PM on @NBCPhiladelphia @CydneyLongNBC10 is live in Brooklyn. Law enforcement sources tell @NBCNewYork this is photo of bag believed left in subway by suspect — with smoke canisters and fireworks. @tracydavidson pic.twitter.com/XDReQpLSJm
“Investigators believe they have identified man who rented U-Haul linked to Brooklyn subway shooting suspect. They say van was driven from PA to NY yesterday. Police also told Jon that the man has a criminal record…ties to NY, PA and Wisconsin,” News4 journalist Natalie Pasquarella wrote on Twitter. She said reporter Jonathan Dienst obtained the information from sources.
CNN reported that authorities identified the suspect from a credit card he left at the scene.
However, the injury toll continued to climb. The Associated Press reported that 29 people were injured in all from smoke inhalation, gunshots, and other things. Five people are in critical condition. All are expected to survive.
For hours, the suspect was at large as a manhunt ensued.
According to the Associated Press, police were searching for, and then found, an “unoccupied U-Haul van in Brooklyn” that matched the van being sought in connection with the attack. The suspect is at large.
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