New York breathes, behind bars, the alleged shooter of 36th Street. Frank James, the man suspected of having shot Tuesday in a subway train at rush hour, injuring 30 of them with a firearm according to justice, was remanded in custody Thursday, accused of having “spread the terror citywide. Arrested without resistance Wednesday, in the middle of the Manhattan street, the man is known to the police. His criminal record includes 12 entries for various crimes.
“Mr. James saw her picture on the news yesterday, called the police for help, said where he was,” explains his attorney, Mia Eisner-Grynberg, warning against any “hasty judgment”. The police had tracked down Frank James, 62, thanks in particular to the key to a van he had rented, found at the crime scene. The man had a YouTube page, called “prophetoftruth88” (prophet of truth) where he launched into long, sometimes rambling and vehement tirades about racial issues and insecurity in New York.
A “terrorist attack” compared to 9/11
Quietly, sometimes taking notes between his two lawyers, Franck James listened to the charges against him, in particular that of a “terrorist attack” which puts him at risk of life in prison. Judge Roanne Mann ordered his custody. It “opened fire on the passengers of a crowded subway train, disrupting their morning commute in a way this city hasn’t seen in over 20 years,” said prosecutor Sara Winik, referring to the deadly attacks on September 11, 2001. that permanently traumatized New York.
The suspect wore a gas mask and triggered two smoke devices, filling the train with smoke before firing. The prosecution has revised the budget upwards, bringing it to 30 wounded, including 10 from bullets, against 23 at the beginning. “His attack was premeditated, was carefully planned and sowed terror among the victims and throughout the city,” added the prosecutor.
While this bloody attack, committed in a busy South Brooklyn station, “36th Street”, resulted in no death, it caused great commotion in the megalopolis of nearly 9 million inhabitants, already hit by an increase in crime and shootings. ever since the Covid-19 pandemic. Between Tuesday and Wednesday, NYPD documented no less than 14 separate shootings and shootings, including in Brooklyn and the Bronx, and four murders.
