A savage attack Tuesday morning at the 36th Street station of the New York subway in Brooklyn left 29 injured, 10 of whom were shot.
Updated yesterday at 10:38 p.m.
On Tuesday morning, an armed man wearing a gas mask and a construction jacket set off a smoke grenade in the heart of the New York subway, at the station of the 36and Street. “The car filled with smoke, and that’s when the man started shooting around, on the train and on the platform,” said the New York police commissioner. , Keechant Sewell.
PHOTO JOHN MINCHILLO, ASSOCIATED PRESS
New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell
“At first I thought this man was an MTA employee. [Metropolitan Transportation Authority] and I didn’t pay too much attention to her, a woman named Claire told the New York Post. I heard gunshots. There were so many that I lost count. »
In total, at least ten people were shot on Tuesday during the events, according to the authorities. Among the victims who were shot, five were considered to be in critical but stable condition. The other injured were inconvenienced by smoke, shrapnel (unidentified) or suffered nervous shock.
According to American media, the firefighters, who arrived first on the scene, found several unprimed explosive devices in the area. The police, however, wanted to be reassuring by indicating that no other active device of this type had been found in the New York subway.
PHOTO ANDREW KELLY, REUTERS
A Glock-type weapon and two magazines were also found at the station, according to US media citing unnamed law enforcement sources. This leads them to believe that the number of victims could have been higher. The police did not confirm this information.
GOOGLE MAP SCREEN CAPTURE
The 36th Street station is located in the Sunset Park area of Brooklyn, a stone’s throw from the large Green-Wood Cemetery.
Chaos
In the minutes following the attack, metro users began to upload photos and videos, with very graphic content, captured on the spot. These images showed the extent of the chaos and panic at the 36th Street station. On video, we saw dozens of people leaving, some visibly injured, or staggering from a subway train from which thick smoke escaped.
PHOTO FROM ARMEN ARMENIAN’S FACEBOOK PAGE, PROVIDED BY THE NEW YORK POST
Photos taken by passengers on a metro train show the desolation of the scene.
During the day Tuesday, there was little information about the suspect. That’s partly due to the 36th Street station’s surveillance cameras not working, sources told Reuters. New York Post. The police have asked anyone in possession of iconographic material related to this event to pass it on to the sleuths.
In the evening, the identity of the suspect was confirmed. This is Frank James, a “black man” measuring about 1.65 m, “of strong build”. At the time of the events, he was wearing a “green and orange construction vest” and a gray cotton fleece hooded sweater. According to CNN, the police department would also have an interest in a U-Haul type truck with an Arizona license plate.
The New York police do not currently consider this event as a terrorist act, adding however that all hypotheses remain open.
‘Senseless act of violence’
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who is in self-isolation due to COVID-19, has been briefed on the situation and has been monitoring it closely, authorities said. He called the attack a “senseless act of violence”.
United States President Joe Biden was also made aware of what was happening, his spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, said on Twitter. New York State Governor Kathy Hochul participated in the press conference and expressed her disgust. “That’s enough, the mass shootings,” she said.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was on the scene to assist investigators in their work, it was also said.
PHOTO JOHN MINCHILLO, ASSOCIATED PRESS
In all schools in the Sunset Park area, students have been sheltered, the Department of Education announced without giving further details.
In the wake of the attack, several urban transport services increased the number of patrols, whether in Boston, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Atlanta or Washington.
In 1984…
Previously, in the long history of the New York subway, a shooting marked the spirits, that of December 22, 1984 when a man, Bernhard Goetz, shot and injured four young men claiming that they were trying to rob him.
The case had created a huge debate about self-defense in the United States. Goetz served an eight-month prison sentence for possession of an illegal weapon. However, he lost a civil suit against one of his victims and was ordered to pay him $43 million. Soon after, Goetz declared bankruptcy.
With the collaboration of Alice Girard-Bossé, The PressCNN, Agence France-Presse and the New York Post