CHILLING PICS
Surveillance pics of Brooklyn subway suspect Frank James released as shooter’s words before opening fire revealed
SURVEILLANCE pictures of Brooklyn subway shooting suspect Frank James have been released as witnesses recall the perp's haunting words right before firing 33 shots.
Mayhem unfolded during the Tuesday morning commute at the 36th Street subway station in Sunset Park after a shooting on board a Manhattan-bound N train left 29 injured, 10 of which were gunshot victims.
9
9
9
9
In a series of images released by the NYPD, James is pictured at one of the city's 472 stations.
In another picture, the suspect appears to be grinning as he emerges from an underground station.
Straphanger Fitim Gjeloshi, who was on board the N train, said he came face to face with the shooter and was targeted by the gunman.
Gjeloshi boarded the N train just before 8.30am in when he noticed the suspect sitting in the corner, mumbling to himself.
Read more on the Brooklyn subway attack
“I looked at him, and I thought to myself he was talking to himself for like a while, so I looked at him, and I was like, this guy must be on drugs,” Gjeloshi told the .
When the train briefly stopped underground after leaving the 59th Street station, the suspect suddenly whipped out a gas mask, Gjeloshi recalled.
“When [the train] was about to hit 36th Street, we stopped for 5 minutes. He takes out a gas mask from one of his little luggage[s],” the train rider told the Post.
“He opened one of his gas tanks, and he said, ‘Oops, my bad.’ He pulls out an ax, he drops it, he takes a gun out, he starts shooting.”
Most read in The Sun
Gjeloshi claimed the gunman shot at him first but dodged the bullet and emerged unharmed.
“One guy gets shot right next to me. He says, ‘Help! Help!,’” the straphanger recalled.
“I tell some person to help him out, cover the blood for him. I jump over, I bang the door and I kicked it with my leg.
“I got lucky with it. … It was crazy, man," Gjeloshi added.
FRANK JAMES NAMED AS A SUSPECT
On Wednesday, NYC Mayor Eric Adams said officials are now considering James, 61, as a suspect and not a person of interest as previously stated.
The New York City Police Department later confirmed the mayor's statement by tweeting a series of pictures of James and asking the public for information about the incident or his whereabouts.
James is described as about 5 feet 5 inches tall, heavily built, and was last seen fleeing the scene wearing a gas mask, an orange and green nylon construction vest, and a gray sweatshirt.
The NYPD said the incident is not being investigated as an act of terrorism yet.
NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said that as the train pulled into the station, the suspect put on a gas mask, pulled out a gas canister from his bag, and began shooting as the car filled with smoke.
"The train at that time began to fill with smoke, he then opened fire, striking multiple people on the subway and on the platform," Sewell said.
A Glock 17, three Glock magazines, shell casings, bullets, two detonated smoke grenades, two undetonated ones, a hatchet and a U-Haul key were found at the scene, police said.
According to , the gun found at the scene has been traced to the suspect and was purchased at a pawn shop in Columbus, , in 2011.
Police say the keys found at the crime scene belong to a U-Haul truck that was rented by James in Philadelphia.
The van was found Tuesday afternoon in Brooklyn; however, its connection to the case is currently unknown.
Officials say James has ties in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Ohio.
9
9
9
9
'SEATED NEXT TO THE SHOOTER'
The latest violent episode comes amid fears about public safety as New York City struggles to recover from the pandemic.
Hourari Benkada, 27, transferred from a Manhattan-bound R train onto the express N train at the 59th Street station Tuesday morning and sat next to a man wearing an "MTA vest" with a duffle bag.
"It was the first car, last seats. And I’m just not paying attention to that so I just walked in and sat down. The guy is next to me but I didn’t get a glimpse of his face,” the 27-year-old told from his hospital bed.
Benkada, a housekeeping manager at the New Yorker Hotel, watched the man detonate a “smoke bomb” before firing shots just seconds after the train left the station.
“All you see is black smoke after the smoke bomb went off. People bum-rushing to the back,” he told the outlet.
“About 10 shots went off. I think the gun jammed. I think he had an extended clip or something because I’ve never heard that many shots come off a handgun.
It sounded like the loudest thing I’ve ever heard in my life,” Benkada added.
Benkada said his main priority was helping a hurt pregnant woman get off the train before being stampeded.
Then Benkada described being shot: “The worst pain of my entire life. I was just so shocked that the pain didn’t hit me until after.”
The bullet hit him in the back of his knee and came out the other side.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Read More on The US Sun
Doctors told him the bullet grazed his kneecap. He is expected to be able to walk on his own after several weeks on crutches.
“This makes me want to never ride a train ever again in my life,” Benkada told CNN.
9
We pay for your stories!
Do you have a story for The US Sun team?
Email us at [email protected] or call 212 416 4552.
Like us on Facebook at and follow us from our main Twitter account at
Topics