'Person of interest' ID'd in NYC subway mass shooting

New York police identified a 62-year-old man as a "person of interest'' in the shooting of 10 people on a New York City subway train and platform during rush hour Tuesday morning.

Police said they found a credit card at the scene linked to a rented U-Haul van believed to be tied to the shooter, and hours later found the unoccupied vehicle parked in Brooklyn, scene of the attack.

Frank James was listed as the renter of a van, and he was identified as the person of interest, said Chief James Essig, the New York Police Department's chief of detectives, during a Tuesday night news conference.

"We don't know if Mr. James has any connection to the subway; that's still under investigation," Essig said.

There were some "concerning" social media posts police believe may be connected to James, New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said. They mentioned homelessness and New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Security for the mayor was increased because of the posts.

James has addresses in Wisconsin and Philadelphia, authorities said. The U-Haul was rented in Philadelphia.

Tuesday's mass shooting left at least 29 people injured; they were treated at three nearby hospitals for injuries, none of which are life-threatening, according to hospital representatives.

Other victims were treated for smoke inhalation, shrapnel and panic in the attack, Fire Department First Deputy Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said. Officials said at a midday briefing that five of the 10 shooting victims were in critical condition, but none were believed to have suffered life-threatening injuries.

The attack began at about 8:30 am on a Manhattan-bound train that pulled into a station in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, about a 15-minute train ride from Manhattan and predominantly home to Hispanic and Asian communities.

The assailant detonated a smoke bomb and opened fire, police said, after telling people inside the crowded car: "Start running."

Witnesses told local media that they heard from 15 to 30 shots, and one rider recalled the gunman announcing, "Oops, my bad" after the smoke bomb went off.

The 9 mm pistol used by the shooter jammed, preventing him from causing more casualties, the New York Post reported. Police recovered the jammed Glock and two extended magazines at the scene, CNN and the Post reported.

Other items, including a hatchet, fireworks, pepper spray, extra ammunition and two gas canisters were also found, according to the Post. It wasn't immediately clear if the items belonged to the suspect.

The search for the gunman was being hampered because one and maybe none of the security cameras inside the subway station that might have captured the scene were working, according to Adams.

The train was approaching the 36th Street station at about 8:24 am when the suspect put on a gas mask and took a canister out of his bag and opened it, filling the train car with smoke, Sewell said at a news conference.

"He then opened fire, striking multiple people on the subway and on the platform," she said.

Sewell described the subject as a 5-foot-5-inch black man who was dressed in a construction vest and a gray hooded sweatshirt.

She said that no active explosive devices had been found at the scene or on subway trains.

As the train doors opened, sending smoke billowing through the station, riders fled, many to a train that was sitting across the platform. Subway seats and cars were streaked with blood as people called for help.

"My subway door opened into calamity. It was smoke and blood and people screaming," Sam Carcamo told radio station 1010 WINS.

The streets surrounding the station quickly filled with dozens of police cars as helicopters circled overhead.

Sewell said initially that the incident isn't being investigated as an act of terrorism then later acknowledged investigators were considering all motives.

Adams, who has been quarantined with the coronavirus since Sunday, said in an interview with CNN that it was "premature" to rule out terrorism.

"This is terror," the 61-year-old former New York City police captain said. "Someone attempted to terrorize our system. They brought in what appears to be some form of smoke device, they discharged a weapon. So, I don't want to be premature in identifying if this was or was not."

Adams later announced that the city will double the number of police on the subway system in the wake of the Brooklyn subway shooting.

"We're going to hold what's considered the day tour to meet and complement the evening tour. You're going to see double the amount of police officers," he said in a television interview.

But more police at stations might not be enough to ease the fear that subway riders are expected to feel after the incident in Brooklyn.

The city's subway system has been contending with lower ridership since the COVID-19 pandemic and recently has been plagued by more incidents of crime, including people being attacked on platforms and in subway cars as well as the violent shoving murder onto tracks of Michelle Go this past January.

In February, Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul announced a new subway safety plan to encourage riders to return.

Adams has said in a recent interview that his tenure will be judged on public safety. Last week, the city's police commissioner announced new figures that showed crime incidents in the first three months of the year were higher than the same period a year ago: a 36 percent increase in major crimes and a 16 percent rise in shootings across the city.