NEW YORK — The 62-year-old man accused of shooting 10 people and injuring more than a dozen committed a “premeditated” rush-hour traffic attack that triggered the worst travel disruption the city has seen in 20 years, they said. federal prosecutors on Thursday.
Suspect Frank James, wearing a beige prison uniform, nodded when asked by a judge if he understood the federal charge against him. He waived his rights to a preliminary hearing and was ordered detained at his arraignment in Brooklyn federal court on Thursday. James was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
“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.”
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. All were later found on the platform of the 36th Street and Fourth Avenue subway station.
James also allegedly disguised himself during the attack and tossed the costume off in the ensuing chaos to flee the subway station undetected, prosecutors said. 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 traveling to Brooklyn. They also found a propane tank in the U-Haul linked to the scene. From James’s storage unit, investigators recovered 9mm ammunition, a threaded 9mm pistol barrel that allows a silencer or silencer to be attached, targets and .223 caliber ammunition, used with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.
James’ attorney, Mia Eisner-Grynberg, warned against rushing to trial, saying he was the one to call Crime Stoppers and report his own location. A court follow-up date was not immediately set.
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