New York subway attack suspect arrested, faces ‘terrorism’ charge | Gun Violence News

Frank R James, 62, is sole suspect in a shooting on a Brooklyn subway train that injured at least 23 people.

A man who was wanted in connection with a shooting on a New York City subway train has been apprehended after a 30-hour manhunt, officials announced.

Frank R James was taken into custody in the East Village neighbourhood of Manhattan on Wednesday afternoon, New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said.

“We hope this arrest brings some solace to the victims and the people of the city of New York,” Sewell told reporters during a news conference.

The attack on Tuesday morning sent shockwaves across the United States’s largest city, where millions of people take the subway every day.

An attacker set off smoke bombs aboard a subway train at around 8:30am local time (1230 GMT) that day, then opened fire with a handgun, shooting 23 times.

Ten people were injured by gunfire while another 13 were hurt by the smoke or in the panic to get out of the train following the shooting, New York authorities said. None of the gunshot injuries was life-threatening, officials said.

Police had put out photographs and video of James, first named as a person of interest in the hours after the attack, then named a suspect by New York Mayor Eric Adams, and called on the public to come forward with any information.

“My fellow new Yorkers, we got him. We got him,” Adams said during the news conference on Wednesday. “We’re going to protect the people of this city and apprehend those who believe they can bring terror to everyday New Yorkers.”

James faces a federal charge of a “terrorism” attack on mass transportation, officials said.

Police said the 62-year-old fired a semi-automatic handgun on Tuesday that was later recovered at the scene, along with three extended-ammunition magazines, a hatchet, some consumer-grade fireworks and a container of gasoline.

Al Jazeera’s Gabriel Elizondo, reporting from New York, said James’s arrest was “a huge sigh of relief for millions of New Yorkers who have been very … anxious all day”.

Elizondo said “there is no obvious motive” for the attack so far, as the investigation into what occurred is ongoing. “But that is clearly what’s going to be on everyone’s mind, ‘What would drive someone to do this?’” he added.

This is a developing story. More soon.