The New York Police, who had named Frank R James as a "person of interest" in the Brooklyn subway shooting, has now named him the suspect in the incident that left at least 23 people injured, several of them critically.
The 62-year-old was named as the suspect in the case by the authorities on Wednesday.
Twenty-three people were injured on Tuesday, 12 April, after James opened two canisters of smoke and opened fire on the platform of a Brooklyn subway station in New York City.
Who Is Frank R James?
According to the police, James has addresses in Wisconsin and Philadelphia. As per a report in The New York Times, in recent years, James has posted several videos on social media, sharing "harshly bigoted views," and critiqued New York City Mayor Eric Adams' policies.
Police have also released a screenshot of James, which was taken from a video posted on a YouTube channel – prophetoftruth88.
In the videos, the man, who looks similar to James reportedly expresses extensive rants, mostly about violence and race. He also connects those subjects with contemporary events like the Russian invasion in Ukraine and Mayor Adams' policies.
The man took Mayor Adams' name in one of the videos posted on the channel on 1 March and critiqued his recently announced policies on public safety at subways, which were focused on homeless people. He further went on to say that it was easy to commit a crime on a subway.
Despite the deployment of numerous police officers, "I'd still get away," he had said in the video.
Two law enforcement officials have since confirmed that the videos in the channel featured James.
After the videos came to light, New York Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said that Adams' security cover would be increased.
A credit card, which had James' name, has been found at the shooting site. Besides, police have also found a key of a van which he had rented.
It is believed that James took the van for rent several days ago from Philadelphia, drove it near the subway where the incident happened and abandoned it there.
Police has asked public to help them with any information which they get on James. Authorities have also announced a reward of $50,000 for the person who provides information on a suspect or information that could lead to their arrest.
Background
James, who was travelling on a Manhattan-bound N train, shot at multiple passengers when it stopped at 36th Street station in Sunset Park on Tuesday.
While 10 people were injured by the gunfire, 13 others were either injured as they rushed to get out of the train station or suffered smoke inhalation, said Sewell, as per news agency ANI.
Sewell added that "the suspect is a dark-skinned male who was wearing a neon orange vest and a grey collared sweatshirt."
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