NYPD identifies person of interest in NYC subway shooting and reveals he made 'concerning posts' on social media about homelessness, New York and Mayor Eric Adams: Cops say 62-year-old rented the U-Haul connected to the attack

• Frank James has been named by NYPD as a person of interest in the Brooklyn subway shooting
• Police believe James rented a U-Haul in Philadelphia and drove it to Brooklyn: the U-Haul was found five miles from the scene of the shooting
• James has not been arrested and police on Tuesday evening appealed for the public's help in tracking him down, offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads to his arrest
• It is unclear if James was behind the shooting on Tuesday morning, that saw 10 people shot and a further 13 injured

By JEN SMITH and SHAWN COHEN and JAMES GANT and ANDREA BLANCO and HARRIET ALEXANDER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM- 19:18 EDT, 12 April 2022

NYPD have released a photo of a person of interest in the Brooklyn subway shooting.

Frank James, 62, is described as someone they want to speak to regarding the attack.  

'We are looking to determine if he has any connection to the train,' said NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig. 

'We know Mr James rented that U-Haul truck in Philadelphia.'

The key of the U-Haul van was found at the crime scene in the subway, the official said.

The U-Haul was found five miles from the scene of the shooting.  

Keechant Sewell, the NYPD chief, said they recovered from the scene a 9mm semi automatic handgun, extended magazines, a hatchet, gasoline, consumer-grade fireworks and a hobby fuse.

'We still do not know the suspect's motivation,' said Sewell. 

Sewell said James made concerning social media posts about homelessness in New York City, and threats to Mayor Eric Adams. Adams's security was stepped up as a result.  

'This person of interest in today's subway shooting in Brooklyn has made past comments about @NYCMayor,' said Adams's spokesman, Fabien Levy. 

'Out of an abundance of caution, @NYPD will increase Mayor Adams' security presence until this man has been questioned.' 

The officials said James has addresses in Philadelphia and Wisconsin, and they are still investigating whether he has ties to New York.

'This is Frank James. He is a person of interest in the shooting that took place on the N train in Brooklyn Tuesday morning,' they tweeted.

'Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call at 1-800-577-TIPS.' 

Police are offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to James's arrest. The MTA and Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 100 both offered $12,500 each in reward money and the New York City Police Foundation offered $25,000 in reward money to bring the total reward offering to $50,000.

No arrests have been made.  

Police on Tuesday evening said the gunman fired 33 shots. 

NYPD are hunting for Frank James, described as a 'person of interest' in the Brooklyn subway shooting

NYPD release name of man wanted in connection with subway shooting

 

 

Adams calls gun violence 'American, not NY problem' after shooting

 

The unnamed gunman opened fire on a Brooklyn subway shortly before 8:30am on Tuesday morning, shooting 10 people and leaving 13 more injured.

Investigators believe they know who the gunman is, having identified the suspect after finding a credit card at the scene that was also used to rent the U-Haul cargo van, two law enforcement sources told CNN.  

BROOKLYN SUBWAY SHOOTING - WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR

• Unidentified gunman wearing grey hoodie and green construction vest opened fire on northbound N train at 8.24am 
• Police have described Frank James as 'a person of interest' 
• He is known to the FBI, having been on their radar in New Mexico until he was cleared following 'multiple interviews' in 2019 
• He is believed to have travelled from New Mexico
• A U-Haul was rented in Philadelphia and used in connection with the shooting
• That U-Haul was found five miles from the scene on King's Highway, Brooklyn 
• A credit card found on the scene of the shooting matched the credit card used to rent the U-Haul 
• The suspect put on a gas mask then detonated a smoke bomb that was in his bag before firing the first shots
• Panicked commuters tried to flee into the next subway car but the door was locked - they were trapped until the train reached 36th street 
• The gunman somehow vanished in the chaos - some fear he may have jumped onto the tracks and entered the subway tunnels 
• Police found a .380 handgun and three extended magazines in backpack at the Brooklyn station  
• Sixteen people were taken to NYC hospitals - ten were shot, four suffered smoke inhalation and another two were in shock 
• NYPD is going door-to-door in Brooklyn asking for information, surveillance camera footage and pictures 
• Anyone with information about the shooting or gunman is urged to call 800 577 TIPS 

A federal law enforcement source told Newsweek the suspect was the previously known to the FBI, having been entered into the Guardian Lead system in New Mexico.

The system is the FBI's way of coordinating information from other law enforcement partners about potential terrorism-related threats and suspicious activity reports. 

He was cleared after multiple interviews in 2019. 

The federal law enforcement source said that he is believed to have driven to New York from New Mexico. 

The FBI has now joined the hunt for him and armed police units are patrolling Brooklyn for any clue of his whereabouts. 

NYPD has located the U-Haul believed to have been used in Tuesday morning's subway shooting abandoned in the street in Brooklyn, five miles from the scene of the crime. 

DailyMail.com obtained an alert that was issued to officers telling them that the suspect is connected to a U-Haul with an Arizona license plate AL31408. 

Police sources tell DailyMail.com the van was rented in Philadelphia. U-Haul is now helping with the search. 

The U-Haul was located late on Tuesday afternoon near Kings Avenue in Brooklyn, but there is still no sign of the suspect. 

Police evacuated people from the immediate area after the van's discovery.

'Police came for the van and told us to clear the store,' said the manager of nearby King's Piano World on Kings Highway. 

He told DailyMail.com: 'Police blocked off the area. People were told not to walk in the area. They told us it was dangerous.'

The rental agreement obtained by CNN shows that the U-Haul reservation was made on April 6, and was scheduled to be picked up on April 11 at 2:01 p.m. ET.

The van was supposed to be rented for two days, according to the reservation.

Sebastien Reyes, U-Haul Vice President of Communications, said: 'Law enforcement has alerted us to its search for a rental van and its possible connection to a suspect in today's incident in New York City. 

'We are working closely with authorities to ensure they have any and all available information to meet their needs.' 

There is a heightened police presence all over the city, particularly on the subway, and some schools in Brooklyn have been told to shelter in place.  

Witnesses have described how the gunman calmly put on a gas mask on the slow-moving train this morning at 8.24am then tossed a smoke grenade down the carriage, causing havoc among commuters, before opening fire. 

The terrified commuters rushed to the other end of the train to try to get through to the next car but the door was locked. They were trapped on the train until it reached the next station. 

Video shows the moment the doors opened and wounded passengers spilled onto the platform, trailing blood. 

DailyMail.com can confirm that a .380 handgun was found inside the station, along with three extended magazines; one was empty, one was full and a third was jammed in the gun.  

Another bag was discovered that contained a batch of Falcon Rising fireworks and Seismic Wave firecrackers.  It's unclear what he intended to do with them.  

The gunman then disappeared from 36th St, where no security cameras were in operation. 

Eric Adams, the mayor of New York, told WCBS Radio 880 AM that a preliminary review indicates there appeared to be some sort of malfunction with the camera system at the subway station in Tuesday's shooting.

Adams said investigators are trying to determine whether one camera malfunctioned or whether cameras throughout the entire station malfunctioned. 

Janno Lieber, the chair and CEO of the Metro Transportation Authority (MTA), told CNN there are almost 10,000 cameras in the system including almost 600 cameras on the Brooklyn section of where the attack happened. 

He did not comment on why they were not working. 

The U-Haul that police believe is connected to the Brooklyn subway shooter is shown on Tuesday at 1780 West Third Street near King's Highway in Brooklyn, five miles from the subway station where the attack took place. A bomb squad is at the scene

U-Haul allegedly used by subway shooter spotted in Brooklyn

 

The U-Haul, shown behind police tape, was rented in Philadelphia. It's unclear if there are explosives inside 

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