New York (United States) police gave chase to a man in a gas mask who caused chaos in the subway on Tuesday, April 12 by setting off two smoking devices before opening fire, injuring 23, from who ten were shot.
‘We were really lucky that it wasn’t much more serious’New York Police Department (NYPD) Chief Keechant Sewell underlined, summarizing authorities’ relief after this attack in which the suspect — still at large 12 hours after the shooting — fired 33 bullets into the subway. this person “Opened two buses, allowing smoke to enter the train. He then shot several passengers as the train entered 36th Street station” south of Brooklyn,” Keechant Sewell said.
Amateur photos and videos showed pools of blood and people on the floor of a train and on the platform. Among the victims, none of whom was life-threatening, according to police, ten were shot dead and 13 others struggling to get out of the subway or because of smoke inhalation. The suspect was described by police as: “a black man” measures about 1.65 m, “heavyweight”and wearing a “green and orange construction vest” and a gray hoodie.
At the scene, investigators found a handgun and three magazines, as well as a car key that would allow them to get back to a van owned by the U-Haul U.S. rental company, which had recently been rented and abandoned in Brooklyn.
Police gave the description and distributed photos of the person who rented the van, without saying whether it was the suspect. According to various media outlets, this man, Frank James, 62, has published several videos on YouTube in which he delivers lengthy political diatribes, some viciously, and criticizes New York Mayor Eric Adams. “There have been reports that may 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.
During a visit to Iowa, President Joe Biden promised: “We won’t let go until we find the culprit.The attack came as New York City faced a spike in crime since the Covid-19 pandemic. The homicide rate fell from 319 in 2019 to 488 in 2021 – well below the more than 2,000 per year recorded at the outset, however. 1990s. Democratic mayor and former police officer Eric Adams, who was elected in November on security promises, launched a plan in January to curb the proliferation of firearms after the deaths of two police officers shot dead during an intervention.