The man now considered a suspect in the Brooklyn subway shooting appeared to post videos of himself on social media expressing bigoted views, violence and criticism of New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ policies addressing public safety and homeless outreach on subways.
New York police on Wednesday identified Frank R. James, 62, as a suspect in the Tuesday morning rush-hour attack that wounded at least 10 and injured 13 others. He was previously just a person of interest.
A $50,000 reward is being offered to find James, who police said had addresses in Wisconsin and Philadelphia.
Police said James rented a U-Haul van, the keys of which were found at the scene of the shooting in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood.
One of the photos police shared of James was a screenshot of a video from the “prophet of truth 88” YouTube channel, a platform where he appears to go on lengthy, profanity-filled rants and express controversial views. He talks about death in several videos and the desire to “exterminate” certain groups of people in one clip.
In a video posted Monday, James said he had experienced the desire to kill people but he didn’t want to go to jail. In one uploaded March 18, he claimed he suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder.
In another video posted Feb. 27, he appeared disappointed that Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was married to a white man.
James also used YouTube to criticize the mayor. In a video posted Feb. 23, he slammed Adams’ homeless outreach efforts on subways, alluding that he experienced homelessness himself.
In a clip uploaded March 1, he again criticized Adams’ plans for public safety on trains and efforts to help homeless people.
Adams acknowledged the controversial posts on NBC’s “TODAY” show on Wednesday morning.
“I was briefed by the police department on some of his social media posts,” Adams said. “He appears to be all over the place according to the briefing.”
“I just think we need to focus on his apprehension at this time and the police department is going to use those posts and all of evidence that we’re gathering, not only to apprehend him, we also must make sure that he’s prosecuted,” he said.
The mayor’s security has been beefed up since Tuesday.
April 13, 202205:51
New Yorkers started their morning commute Wednesday with few answers as to where the shooter may be and a motive.
In the Tuesday attack, the gunman donned a gas mask and set off two smoke canisters then started shooting aboard a Manhattan-bound N train it rolled into the 36th Street Station in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, around 8:30 a.m., Sewell said.
The gunman opened fire at least 33 times, Sewell said in a Tuesday evening press conference.
None of the wounded have life-threatening injuries.
The attack has fueled unease as it comes amid rising violent crime on subways.
Investigators recovered from the subway station a gun with a magazine attached, two additional magazines, ammunition, a hatchet and a container of what is believed to be gasoline, police said. They also recovered a bag containing consumer grade fireworks.
Police had said they were looking for a man believed to be about 5-foot-5 and 180 pounds, wearing a neon orange vest during the attack.
“Clearly this person boarded the train and was intent on violence,” Sewell said.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
