Police identify 'person of interest' in Brooklyn subway shooting

New York City police said Tuesday evening they had identified a “person of interest” in the mass shooting that occurred during morning rush hour on a crowded subway.

At a press conference at police headquarters, NYPD officials said they are seeking Frank James, a 62-year-old Black male with known addresses in Philadelphia and Wisconsin.

Police said keys from a U-Haul van that James rented in Philadelphia were found in the subway and authorities were working to determine whether he was the suspect in the shooting. The unoccupied van was later located in Brooklyn and a bomb squad was sent to inspect the vehicle.

“We have no one in custody,” NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig told reporters. “We are looking for Frank James. We know Mr. James rented that van in Philadelphia.”

New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said 10 people were shot on a Manhattan-bound N train around 8:24 a.m. local time and an additional 13 people were injured in the shooting.

Five of the victims are in serious condition, she said, but none have life-threatening injuries.

Witnesses told police that as the train was pulling into the 36th Street station, the suspect donned what appeared to be a gas mask, took two canisters out of his bag and opened them, filling the car with smoke. The suspect then brandished a 9-mm handgun, firing it at least 33 times, police said, before fleeing the station.

The suspect was described as a Black male, about 5 feet 5 with a heavy build, wearing a green “construction-type” hat, orange vest and a gray sweatshirt, but Essig cautioned that they had received conflicting information about his height.

Police recovered a handgun, three magazines, two detonated smoke grenades, two non-detonated smoke grenades, a hatchet, a rolling cart, gasoline and the U-Haul keys at the scene.

While there is no known motive, Sewell said James had made social media posts referencing New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and that the mayor’s security detail was being tightened as a result. (Adams, who is currently in quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19, addressed the press conference via video.)

Sewell reiterated that the incident is “not being investigated as terrorism” at this time.

Graphic photos and videos from the scene posted to social media show a bloody man being tended to on the platform and what appears to be smoke filling the station.

One video shows passengers fleeing a smoke-filled subway car, screaming as they spill onto the platform.

The 36th Street subway station is located in Brooklyn's Sunset Park, a large working-class neighborhood with significant Chinese American and Mexican American communities.

The shooting triggered a massive police response, with agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force assisting the NYPD in its investigation.

Speaking in Iowa on Tuesday afternoon, President Biden thanked first responders and civilians who “didn’t hesitate to help their fellow passengers and tried to shield them.”

Biden said the Justice Department and the FBI are working closely with the NYPD on the ground to find the suspect. “We’re not letting up,” he said.

The shooting comes amid a rise in violent crime in New York, particularly on its transit system. Since the beginning of 2022, there have been 375 transit crimes, a jump of nearly 73% compared with the same period in 2021, according to the NYPD.

Jana Winter contributed reporting to this story.