‘We Got Him,’ Mayor Adams Announces, as Suspected Subway Shooter Arrested

The man wanted in the shooting of 10 people on a subway in Brooklyn was arrested Wednesday afternoon, a day after the attack on a crowded rush-hour train.Frank R. James, 62, was taken into custody in Manhattan’s East Village neighborhood, law enforcement officials who weren’t authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press. Law enforcement located Mr. James after police received a tip about his potential whereabouts, the official said.Governor Hochul confirmed the arrest while speaking at an unrelated news conference. Further details weren’t immediately available.Police had initially said Tuesday that Mr. James was being sought for questioning because he had rented a van possibly connected to the attack, but weren’t sure whether he was responsible for the shooting. Mayor Adams said in a series of media interviews Wednesday morning that investigators had upgraded Mr. James to a suspect, but did not offer details beyond citing “new information that became available to the team.”The gunman sent off smoke grenades in a crowded subway car and then fired at least 33 shots with a 9 mm handgun, police said. Five gunshot victims were in critical condition but all 10 wounded in the shooting were expected to survive. At least a dozen others who escaped gunshot wounds were treated for smoke inhalation and other injuries.The shooter escaped in the chaos, but left behind numerous clues, including the gun, ammunition magazines, a hatchet, smoke grenades, gasoline and the key to a U-Haul van.That key led investigators to Mr. James, a New York City-area native who had more recent addresses in Philadelphia and Wisconsin.Federal investigators determined the gun used in the shooting was purchased by Mr. James at a pawn shop — a licensed firearms dealer — in the Columbus, Ohio, area in 2011, a law enforcement official saidThe van was found, unoccupied, near a station where investigators determined the gunman had entered the subway system. No explosives or firearms were found in the van, a law enforcement official said. Police did find other items, including pillows, suggesting he may have been sleeping or planned to sleep in the van, the official said.Investigators believe Mr. James drove up from Philadelphia on Monday and have reviewed surveillance video showing a man matching his physical description coming out of the van early Tuesday morning, the official said. Other video shows Mr. James entering a subway station in Brooklyn with a large bag, the official said.In addition to analyzing financial and telephone records connected to Mr. James, investigators were reviewing hours of rambling, profanity-filled videos he posted on YouTube and other social media platforms — replete with violent language and bigoted comments, some against other Black people — as they tried to discern a motive.In one video, posted a day before the attack, Mr. James criticizes crime against Black people and says drastic action is needed.“You got kids going in here now taking machine guns and mowing down innocent people,” Mr. James says. “It’s not going to get better until we make it better,” he said, adding that he thought things would only change if certain people were “stomped, kicked and tortured” out of their “comfort zone.”In another video he says, “this nation was born in violence, it’s kept alive by violence or the threat thereof and it’s going to die a violent death. There’s nothing going to stop that.”Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell called the posts “concerning” and officials tightened security for Mr. Adams, who was already isolating following a positive COVID-19 test Sunday.The Brooklyn subway station where passengers fled the smoke-filled train in the attack was open as usual Wednesday morning.

‘We Got Him,’ Mayor Adams Announces, as Suspected Subway Shooter Arrested

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