Members of the New York City Police Department stand near a crime scene after multiple people were shot at a subway station in Brooklyn, the United States, on April 12, 2022. Authorities said they were is conducting an investigation and told residents to avoid the area of 36th Street and 4th Avenue in Brooklyn. (Photo by Mostafa Bassim Adly/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) (Mostafa Bassim Adly/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
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Earlier today, a man in a gas mask opened a canister, blew out the smoke, and began shoot on a Brooklyn subway, injuring multiple people, New York City Police Department Commissioner Keechant Sewell said.
A Manhattan-bound N train was waiting to enter the 36th Street subway at 8:24 a.m. ET when a man wearing a gas mask pulled a canister out of his bag and opened it, Sewell said.
“The train at that moment began to fill with smoke. It then opened fire, hitting several people in the subway and on the platform,” he said, adding there were no life-threatening injuries.
If you’re just reading now for the first time, here’s what you need to know:
10 people shot: Sixteen people were treated for injuries, including 10 for gunshot wounds, following the shooting at a Brooklyn subway station, FDNY Acting Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said at a briefing. “Ten of those patients are suffering from gunshot wounds right now and five are in stable but critical condition,” Kavanagh said. In addition to gunshot wounds, injuries ranged from smoke inhalation to panic from the shooting, she added.
The suspect is still at large: City and state officials said they must search for the suspect in today’s shooting. Commissioner Sewell described the suspect as a strongly built black male, wearing a green construction-type vest with a gray hooded sweatshirt.
A gun was recovered at the Brooklyn subway station: Two law enforcement sources told CNN that a gun was recovered at the subway station where the shooting occurred. The suspect was in the train car and the shooting began “as the train pulled into the station” on 36th Street in Sunset Park in Brooklyn, the New York police commissioner said.
Officials still don’t have a motive: NYPD officials say at this time there is no known motive for the Brooklyn subway shooting and that they are “ruling nothing out” in terms of the investigation. When asked if he ruled out terrorism, Sewell said he “didn’t rule anything out.” He added: “We are determining what the motive is, and will find out as the investigation continues.”
The mayor of New York City currently has covid-19: New York City Mayor Eric Adams tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, according to a statement from his spokesman. The mayor’s spokesman said Adams was “isolating” himself and would “continue to serve New Yorkers by working remotely.” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said today that she spoke with Adams and that he is recovering well. “He is monitoring, he is actively involved in the situation,” she said.
Witness inside the subway car says the car was filled with smoke: An eyewitness who said he was in the subway car where the Brooklyn shooting took place described the chaos at the scene, saying he saw a lot of blood on the floor and the shots sounded like fireworks. The subway conductor said the train was delayed due to train traffic minutes before the train reached the 36th Street platform in Sunset Park, according to Yav Montano, and that’s when smoke suddenly engulfed the car. He then heard “what I thought was fireworks but now I hear it was gunshots and I’m glad I hid behind one of the chairs…I honestly don’t have words for what I’ve experienced.”
The president and other federal officials have been briefed on the shooting: President Biden has been briefed on the latest developments related to the shooting, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki tweeted. High-level White House staff are in contact with the mayor and the New York police commissioner, Psaki added. Attorney General Merrick Garland received preliminary information, according to a Justice Department spokesman. The Secretary of National Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, was also informed, according to a tweet from his spokesman.
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