The man made “concerning posts” about New York’s mayor ahead of the shooting rampage, police said
Emergency personnel gather at the entrance to a subway stop in the Brooklyn borough of New York, April 12, 2022 © AP / John Minchillo
Authorities in New York City have named a “person of interest” as they investigate a subway shooting incident which left nearly two-dozen people injured, releasing a photo and details about the still at-large suspect.
Police identified Frank James, 62, as a prime suspect in the shooting on Tuesday, with NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig stating that a U-Haul key left at the crime scene led officers to a vehicle thought to have been rented by the gunman.
“The male who we believe is the renter of this U-Haul in Philadelphia is a Frank R. James, male 62 years old, with addresses in Wisconsin and Philadelphia,” Essig told reporters at a press briefing. “We are endeavoring to locate him to determine his connection to the subway shooting, if any.”
The department also shared photos of the man in a Twitter post.
This is Frank James who is a person of interest in this investigation. Any information can be directed to @NYPDTips at 800-577-TIPS. pic.twitter.com/yBpenmsX67
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) April 12, 2022
Police commissioner Keechant Sewell later said the suspect made a series of “concerning posts” online, including about “homelessness,” New York City and New York Mayor Eric Adams, adding that authorities would “heighten the mayor’s security detail” out of “an abundance of caution.” She noted, however, that the posts were not necessarily “threats,” but were nonetheless alarming.
At least 23 people were wounded in the shooting incident on a Brooklyn subway early on Tuesday, Sewell said, with 10 injured by gunfire and 13 others harmed as they rushed to leave the train station. Though 10 victims were brought to the hospital for treatment, none sustained life-threatening injuries.
While police said they would not treat the shooting as a terrorist attack, the suspect’s motivation remains unclear, with the police commissioner only stating the man was “intent on violence.”
Officers recovered several other items at the scene in addition to the U-Haul key, including a Glock-17 handgun, three extended magazines, 15 bullets, a number of expended shell casings, gasoline, a hatchet, as well as four smoke grenades, two of which were used during the shooting.
The suspect remains at large, and Essig noted the crime scene in the subway, as well as near the U-Haul van, were still “very active.”
