Suspected subway shooter to be arraigned at noon

Frank James, the man who allegedly donned a gas mask, released a canister of smoke and began firing a Glock 9 mm handgun on a crowded Brooklyn subway train, injuring 23 people, is expected to be arraigned at noon Thursday.

James, 62, who was born in New York but lives in Milwaukee, was taken into custody without incident by officers at 1:42 p.m. Wednesday at the corner of St. Marks Place and First Avenue in Manhattan following a Crime Stoppers tip, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said at a news conference. The arrest came less than 30 hours after the subway attack.

Using technology, video, tips from the public and hundreds of detectives and street officers, the NYPD worked with the FBI and other agencies to rapidly zero in on James.

They tracked him in part from weapons and personal items left at the crime scene — including the gun allegedly used in the shooting, extended magazines, gasoline and four smoke grenades — and then asked rattled New Yorkers to help in the manhunt.

But in the end it was James himself who called police, a law enforcement source said.

The call came Wednesday to the tip line from a male caller identifying himself as Frank James and saying that “he wanted to turn himself in,” according to another law enforcement official. The caller said “I heard you are looking for me,” according to the official. Cops then located James by a McDonald’s and arrested him.

“We hope this arrest brings some solace to the victims and the people of the City of New York,” Sewell said. “We used every resource at our disposal to gather and process significant evidence that directly links Mr. James to the shooting. We were able to shrink his world quickly. There was nowhere left for him to run.”

Mayor Eric Adams said: “We got him.”

Prosecutors in Brooklyn federal court charged James with one count of committing a terrorist or other violent attacks against mass transportation systems. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.

“Yesterday was a dark day for all of us,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace, whose office covers Brooklyn and Long Island and will prosecute James. “But the bright spots of the incredible heroism of our fellow New Yorkers helping each other in a time of crisis, the quick response by our first responders, and the hard work by all of our law enforcement partners that has been ongoing is truly a bright spot.”

Peace said James traveled across state lines to commit the shooting on the Manhattan-bound subway train, elements that make him the subject of a federal prosecution.

James will be arraigned in Brooklyn federal court Thursday before Magistrate Judge Roanne Mann.

Three men who noticed James Wednesday afternoon in Manhattan's East Village and then alerted the police, later spoke to reporters after leaving the NYPD’s 9th Precinct.

“We saw this guy. We were like between 70 and 80 percent sure,” said Mohammad Cheikh of North Bergen, N.J. “We pulled up the picture of the Amber Alert on our phones so we confirmed between the three of us, ‘Oh that’s the guy.’ So we were ready to call the police. Two guys from the police department were pulling up to the street so we go to them, ‘Oh he’s like one block away. He’s over there, wearing a cap, carrying his bag.’ We went with them and they catch him right away.”

Police led James in handcuffs into a black Chevrolet sedan late Wednesday afternoon. James remained silent as members of the news media peppered him with questions.

On Tuesday morning, he boarded the N train at the Kings Highway stop and rode it for eight more until it approached the 36th Street Station in Brooklyn, said NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig. James then donned a gas mask and at 8:26 a.m. opened two canisters of smoke before firing 33 bullets, hitting 10 people, Essig said.

Thirteen others also suffered injuries. All are expected to survive, officials said.

Immediately after the shooting, James boarded a downtown R train, traveled one stop and exited at the 25th Street Station, Essig said.

“This case was quickly solved using technology, video canvassing and … getting that information out to the public,” Essig said.

The NYPD has since recovered video of James, in an orange reflective jacket and construction helmet that were later recovered in the trash, entering the Kings Highway Station in Brooklyn two hours before Tuesday’s shooting.

The subway station is three blocks from where police found a U-Haul, rented by James in Philadelphia and with Arizona plates, authorities said. Police recovered a key to the U-Haul at the scene.

“Transit riders and all New Yorkers will rest a little easier tonight thanks to the incredible work of the NYPD,” said Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chair Janno Lieber.

James has at least nine prior misdemeanor arrests in New York and New Jersey, including for possession of burglary tools, criminal sex act, theft of service, criminal tampering, trespassing, larceny and disorderly conduct, Essig said.

The suspect, who has addresses in Philadelphia and Milwaukee, purchased the Glock 17 pistol used in the shooting at a pawnshop in Ohio in 2011, federal agents said. James, who has no felony convictions, was able to legally purchase the firearm.

Law enforcement executed search warrants for properties associated with James in Pennsylvania after the attack and recovered ammunition; a threaded 9 mm pistol barrel, which allows for a silencer to be attached; a taser, high-capacity rifle magazine and a blue smoke canister, prosecutors said.

James has posted several rants online against New York City, homelessness and Adams in particular, prompting the NYPD to increase the mayor's security detail.

Adams is still in quarantine after being diagnosed with COVID-19 and police said the online posts are a continued subject of the investigation

A man named Frank James of Milwaukee purchased fireworks, including a smoke canister, from Phantom Fireworks in Racine, Wisconsin, on June 21, 2021, said company vice president William Weimer Wednesday.

The individual purchased a Falcon Rising — an item with several tubes that shoot small shells — along with smoke balls, “seismic wave” firecrackers, a green fuse and canister smoke device that produces white smoke, Weimer said. Authorities believe James set off smoke bombs before opening fire.

“He purchased $93 worth of relatively innocuous stuff,” said Weimer, adding that the company is cooperating with authorities.

He said employees are trained to spot customers who might cause trouble but “nobody gave him a second thought. This fellow didn’t raise any flags.”

Weimer said there was no video of the purchase.

“It’s a tragedy,” Weimer said of the mass shooting. “We sell family entertainment that’s often used to celebrate freedom. This is spitting in the face of freedom.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul, speaking Wednesday on WNYC's “The Brian Lehrer Show,” said the state is working with the MTA to restore a sense of normalcy on the subway system. She described Adams’ decision to flood the system with police officers as one way to assuage fears, and stressed the MTA’s focus would be on violent offenders.

“We’re in the heat of a crisis,” she said. “I think you want to see more police down there and that should give confidence to people to know that they’re going to be safe when they’re heading off to school or to work.”

Lieber, the head of the MTA, said expanded use of security technology could help protect subway riders from attacks like Tuesday’s mass shooting, but vowed that “an airport-type metal detector system” is not in the agency’s future.

Speaking to CNN Wednesday, Lieber said that the MTA already has 10,000 security cameras installed throughout its subway system, including more than 600 on the N/R line — the one targeted in Tuesday’s attack.