(New York) A man who shot and sowed chaos in a crowded New York subway train in April 2022 was sentenced Thursday by a Brooklyn federal court judge to life in prison for terrorist acts, the court announced American.
As requested by the prosecution, Frank James, 64, was sentenced to “ten life sentences”, the Brooklyn federal prosecutor’s office said on X, which is as many as the number of victims affected by the shootings.
This attack caused great excitement in a city traumatized by the attacks of September 11, 2001.
On April 12, 2022 at rush hour at the start of the day, Frank James, wearing a gas mask, a yellow helmet and an orange construction worker’s vest, set off two smoke devices in a crowded subway car in Brooklyn before firing a gun, causing panic.
There were no deaths, a miracle according to the authorities, but several victims were seriously injured by the shots.
“There were children on their way to school, families, pregnant women, students and hard-working New Yorkers. Many passengers had fled countries at war and came to New York to find safety and economic opportunities,” the prosecution underlined, in a written document dated September 20, 2023, requesting this life sentence.
PHOTO JOHN MINCHILLO, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Photos from the court file show impressive bloodstains inside the car and streaks on the platform of the 36th Street station in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn.
Frank James was arrested without resistance in Manhattan after a manhunt lasting more than 24 hours. After proclaiming his innocence, he ended up pleading guilty to terrorist acts on January 3, 2023. He explained that he had fired to cause “serious physical injury” and that he was aware that he could have killed even if that wasn’t his intention.
His motivations remained unclear. Known to the police, the man ran a YouTube page called “prophetoftruth88” (prophet of truth) where he was seen launching into long tirades, sometimes disjointed and vehement, on racial issues and insecurity in New York .