Wanted for more than 24 hours, the suspect, Frank James, a 62-year-old African-American, was arrested in the East Village district of Manhattan.
What happened on Tuesday?
On Tuesday morning at around 8:30 a.m. in New York City, on a crowded N Line train, the suspect, who was wearing a gas mask, ignited two devices that smoked the car, then shot passengers as the train entered the 36th street station in south Brooklyn, injuring 23, 10 of whom were shot. According to the authorities, 33 bullets were fired.
Among the hospitalized victims were several teenagers, state governor Kathy Hochul announced on Tuesday evening.
23 people were injured in Tuesday’s subway shooting in New York City.
ANGELA WEISS/AFP
What do we know about the alleged shooter?
The police had launched a manhunt to find the suspect as quickly as possible by posting his photo on social networks. Law enforcement quickly escalated to Frank James, relate le « New York Times ». A credit card in his name was found at the scene of the shooting, along with the key to a van he had rented, a handgun, three rounds of ammunition, a hatchet and explosives.
The suspect is not unknown to the police. He has already been arrested 12 times in New York and New Jersey, including for sexual offences, theft, public disorder, precise CNN. However, he had never been convicted of a crime in New York State, which allowed him to buy a gun.
The sexagenarian regularly posted videos on his YouTube channel, called “prophetoftruth88”, which can be translated as “prophet of truth”. It was removed Wednesday morning for “violating community rules” from the site. According to the American media, who were able to view these videos, Frank James made racist, homophobic and misogynistic remarks and spoke of insecurity in New York. The new mayor of the city, Eric Adams, was also one of his recurring targets, underlines the “New York Times”.
In the last video, posted the day before the shooting, he explained that he had “gone through a lot of bullshit, where I can say that I wanted to kill people. I wanted to see people die right in front of my eyes immediately. But I thought about the fact that, hey man, I don’t want to go to a fuckin’ jail, ”says CNN. Last week he said, “We need to see more mass shootings. Yeah… We need to see more. »
What is he at risk?
Frank James, whose motives have yet to be clarified, must be presented to justice this Thursday, in a Brooklyn court. He is now “under federal prosecution for his act, a terrorist attack on public transport”, announced the federal police.
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