New York City subway shooter Frank James sentenced to life in prison
The man who shot 10 people and terrorized a Brooklyn subway last year when he unleashed smoke bombs and a hail of bullets before fleeing in the chaos was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday.
Frank James, 64, pleaded guilty to multiple federal terrorism charges earlier this year in the April 12, 2022, attack, which led to a citywide manhunt until he called police to turn himself in the next day. He received a life sentence on 10 counts and 10 years for an 11th count after some of the shooting victims read statements in court.
James' attorneys had asked that he be sentenced to 18 years, arguing he didn't intend to kill anyone. They said he has a lifelong history of serious mental illness and said the requested term is longer than his life expectancy.
Prosecutors argued he'd spent years planning the attack and intended to cause maximum harm, including death.
In addition to the 10 people shot, more than a dozen people suffered from injuries including smoke inhalation and shrapnel wounds; all survived.
What happened in the NYC subway shooting?
James, dressed as a construction worker and wearing a gas mask, set off smoke bombs on a Manhattan-bound train between two stations during rush hour, investigators said. He discharged a barrage of over 30 bullets, causing panic as passengers on the subway had nowhere to go.
As the train arrived at a Brooklyn station, James removed the clothing he wore as a disguise and slipped away in the crowd, launching what would be a 30-hour search for him, police said.
Police identified James as the suspect using a key he'd left behind on the train that went to a rented U-Haul van. He was eventually arrested after he called a tip line from a McDonald's restaurant to turn himself in.
Gunman posted videos about violence
Investigators said James posted dozens of videos online in which he ranted about race, violence and his struggles with mental illness. James, who is Black, decried the treatment of Black people in some of the videos. In some, he also ranted about New York City officials.
His attorneys said he had a traumatic upbringing and had been hospitalized for schizophrenic episodes in the past, and his mental health issues were not adequately treated.
"By the time Frank James boarded the Manhattan-bound N train on April 12, 2022, his entire life had been defined by trauma and hardship, inexplicably bound up in his untreated severe mental illness," his lawyers wrote in court filings.
Prosecutors argued it was luck that nobody on the subway died that day, not a reflection of James' intention to harm and not kill. James and his attorneys said his goal was bodily injury, not death.
Contributing: Claire Thornton, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NYC subway shooter Frank James sentenced to life in prison
