At least 23 people were injured, including 10 by gunshot, after a shooting Tuesday morning in the New York subway. So far, no investigation “for terrorist act” has not been opened.
At least 23 people were injured after gunfire on Tuesday morning April 12 at a New York subway station in Brooklyn, several local media reported. Among them, 10 suffered gunshot wounds. From “untriggered explosive deviceswere also found, a fire department spokesman told AFP. But according to a police tweet, it’s not “operable explosive devices“. For now, there is no “investigation for terrorist act”, police said. According to several local media, the assailant acted disguised as an agent of the MTA, the company responsible for managing public transport.
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The sequence of events
The attack occurred at 8:24 a.m. (2:24 p.m. French time), when the metro trains in the American megalopolis are crowded, on one of the lines connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan, explained the chief of police New Yorker (NYPD), Keechant Sewell. “As the train pulled into the station, the individual put on a gas mask. He then opened a canister that was in his bag and the (subway) car filled with smoke. After that he started shooting.” described the police chief who ruled out at this point “an act of terrorism”. According to the firefighters, 10 people out of 23 injured were hit by bullets, but none were in danger of death at midday, said Keechant Sewell. According to a fire department spokesperson, there was “several shots” and smoke and “23 people were injured.” An important security device was deployed at 36th Street and 4th Avenue, in the south of Brooklyn, very close to the large cemetery of Greenwood.
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Ambulances, fire engines and police arrived in large numbers on the spot. Several schools in Brooklyn have immediately canceled all outings of their students. Amateur photos and videos showed pools of blood and people lying on the floor of a subway train, as well as on the station platform “36th Streetin the borough of Brooklyn. Another video shows crowds exiting smoky subway cars at the station.36th street“, in the middle of cries but without jostling. According to one of the passengers, Yav Montano, speaking on CNN, “a smoke grenade…a bomb, exploded I would say two minutes before we got to the station”. “It looked like it was planned (…) We were stuck in the car (…) there was blood on the ground. There was a lot of blood on the ground,” added this man.
The fugitive suspect
Speaking to the press gathered above the Brooklyn subway station, Police Chief Keechant Sewell described the suspect, still at large, as “a black man” measuring approximately “1.65m” and “heavyweight”, wearing a “green construction vest” and a gray hoodie. This person is dangerous warned the governor of the state of New York, Kathy Hochul, calling on the population to be extremely careful. “We were really lucky it didn’t get much worseadded Keechant Sewell.
At the scene, the investigators found a handgun and three magazines, as well as a vehicle key which allowed them to go back to a van from the American rental company U-Haul, recently rented and abandoned in Brooklyn. Police gave the description and released photos of the individual who rented the van, without saying if it was the suspect. According to several media, this man, Frank James, 62, has published various videos on Youtube where he delivers long political tirades, sometimes virulent, and criticizes the mayor of New York Eric Adams. “There have been posts that might be related to the person we are interested in, where he mentions homelessness, where he mentions New York, where he mentions Mayor Adams”confirmed the head of the NYPD.
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Joe Biden follows the evolution of the situation
Visiting Iowa, President Joe Biden promised:We won’t let go until we find the perpetrator“. On Monday, Joe Biden announced measures against some of the firearms proliferating in the United States, which killed 45,000 people in the United States in 2021, including suicides, according to the organization Gun Violence Archive.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he “watched closely” the shooting, CNN reported. “I am closely monitoring the situation this morning at the 36th Street station at Sunset Park in our beloved Brooklyn. I pray for all the victims, their families, all those affected. I am grateful for the quick action of our first responders. To everyone in New York: stay safe,” he tweeted. New York Mayor Eric Adams called the shooting “senseless act of violence”.
New York City shootings on the rise since the start of the year
For the first quarter of 2022, the number of shootings and shootings in New York increased by 260 to 296 compared to the same period of 2021, according to NYPD figures released last week. Elected on security promises, the new Democratic mayor of New York, Eric Adams, launched a plan to fight against the proliferation of firearms at the end of January, after the death of two police officers shot dead during an intervention. Other dramas involving firearms have made headlines since.
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