Brooklyn subway shooting suspect Frank James held without bail
Frank James, the suspect in the mass shooting that occurred on a crowded subway train in Brooklyn, was ordered held without bail by a federal judge on Thursday, a day after his arrest in Manhattan.
In his initial appearance in Brooklyn Federal Court, James, 62, of Milwaukee, was arraigned on charges that include conducting “terrorist attacks or other violence against a mass transportation system.” If convicted, he faces up to life in prison. James did not enter a plea.
Prosecutors told U.S. Magistrate Judge Roanne Mann that James posed a "serious risk of danger to the community" and that his "premeditated, carefully planned" attack terrified the “entire city.” James did not speak.
James’s defense attorneys, who waived his right to a preliminary hearing, did not object to his detention, and Mann ordered him held without bail. The attorneys asked that he be given a psychiatric evaluation while he is in jail awaiting trial, and the judge agreed.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Mia Eisner-Grynberg, an assistant federal defender who is representing James, said initial police reports are often inaccurate.
“We caution against a rush to judgment,” she said. “Mr. James is entitled to a fair trial. And we will ensure that he receives one.”
James was arrested without incident Wednesday after calling a police tip line to tell authorities he was at a McDonald's in New York’s East Village neighborhood. When police arrived, he was not there. Francisco Puebla, a hardware store manager, said he spotted James walking a few blocks away and flagged down a patrol car, and James was taken into custody.
New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said investigators used every tool at their disposal to bring the manhunt to a swift conclusion.
“We were able to shrink his world quickly,” Sewell said. “There was nowhere for him left to run.”
James was initially identified by police as a “person of interest” and then formally as a suspect after keys from a U-Haul van that he had rented in Philadelphia were found in the subway following Tuesday morning’s attack.
The NYPD released new photos of James, including stills from surveillance cameras outside the 36th Street subway station in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, where the shooting occurred.
NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said James was known to police and had an extensive arrest history that included nine prior arrests, dating from 1992 to 1998, ranging from burglary and criminal sex acts to trespassing and disorderly conduct. But he had no prior felony convictions and was not known to the FBI.
Witnesses to the shooting told police that as the train was pulling into the 36th Street station, James donned what appeared to be a gas mask, took two canisters out of his bag and opened them, filling the car with smoke. He then brandished a 9-mm handgun and fired it at least 33 times. Ten people were shot and an additional 13 people were injured in the chaos that followed. Some were treated for smoke inhalation. All are expected to survive.
Essig said that James then boarded an R train, traveled one stop and exited at 25th Street.
Police recovered a handgun, three magazines, two detonated smoke grenades, two nondetonated smoke grenades, a hatchet, gasoline and the U-Haul keys at the scene.
The gun was purchased legally by James in Ohio in 2011, Essig said.
While there is no known motive, a YouTube channel that appeared to belong to James contains numerous videos in which he rants about gun violence and mass shootings as well as race issues. In one video uploaded the day before the attack, he said he had thought about killing people. In another, he discussed a plan announced by New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to protect people on the city’s subway system.
“Their plan is doomed for failure,” James said.
The mass shooting came 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.
