A federal grand jury indicted the man suspected of shooting inside a Brooklyn subway last month in an attack that injured nearly two dozen people, 10 of them by bullets.
The panel charged 62-year-old Frank James on Friday with committing a terrorist attack or other violence against a mass transportation system and discharging a firearm during a violent crime. Both charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. The firearm charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years.
An arraignment date for the defendant has not yet been set and the case is assigned to US District Judge William F. Kuntz.
James was arrested on April 13, about 30 hours after authorities said he was driving from Philadelphia and unleashed smoke bombs and fired dozens of bullets at a packed N Line train as it approached a Sunset Park station. in Brooklyn. The victims of the shooting on April 12 were between 16 and 60 years old.
Authorities said James’ bank card, cell phone and the key to a van he had rented were found at the scene of the shooting. Police also said they found the gun used in the shooting and traced it to James.
James is in jail without bail. An arraignment has not yet been scheduled, according to the US Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York.
An attorney representing James at the time of his arrest cautioned against rushing to judgment, noting that James alerted police to his whereabouts. James was arrested in Manhattan’s East Village after calling a tip line and saying he was at a fast food restaurant in that section of town.
The suspect made his first appearance in Brooklyn federal court later the same day as the arrest, as federal, state and local law enforcement agencies worked to piece together details of the 62-year-old’s life. He was ordered held without bail.
James did not speak at that hearing other than to nod when asked by a judge if he understood the federal charge against him. He waived his right to a preliminary hearing and was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation at that time.
“The defendant’s attack was completely premeditated. The day before the shooting,
defendant picked up a U-Haul in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which drove over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and into Brooklyn in the early morning hours of April 12,” prosecutors said in the arrest memorandum. “Defendant arrived to Brooklyn prepared with all the weapons and tools it needed to carry out the massive attack.”
The 62-year-old man wanted in connection with the shooting at a Brooklyn subway station that left 10 people wounded during rush hour Tuesday morning is in custody, New York authorities announced Wednesday.
Those items, according to court documents, included a Glock 17 pistol purchased by the suspect, a container of gasoline, a torch and fireworks containing explosive powder. They were all later found on the platform of the metro station in 36th Street y Fourth Avenue.
Law enforcement officers recovered a cache of weapons and ammunition from other locations allegedly controlled by James, prosecutors said. An empty magazine for a Glock pistol, a taser, a high-capacity rifle magazine and a canister of blue smoke were found in the apartment where he stayed before leaving for Brooklyn. They also found a propane tank, a pillow and a chair in the U-Haul linked to the scene. The propane was being used with a heater, according to a senior law enforcement official.
From James’ storage unit, investigators recovered 9mm ammunition, a threaded 9mm pistol barrel that allows a silencer to be attached, targets and .223 caliber ammunition, used with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.
As for the gun he had in the subway to allegedly carry out the attack, investigators said he had three magazines that held 30 rounds each, up to 90 bullets in all. Some officials also said they believe a smoke grenade may have accidentally gone off prematurely on that train, causing James to allegedly start shooting.
The motive for the attack is unclear. In numerous tirades he posted on YouTube, James made bigoted comments about people of diverse backgrounds and criticized New York City Mayor Eric Adams and complained about the mental health care he received in the city years ago.
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