Frank James’ sister reveals moment she realized he’s wanted for subway attack and says he must ‘answer for what he did’
THE sister of the suspect in the horrific Brooklyn subway shooting has described her detained sibling as a lifelong "loner" who needs to "answer for what he did."
Catherine Robinson, 68, told The US Sun that she was stunned when she found out her brother, Frank Robert James, was being sought by police in connection with the mass shooting in Sunset Park on Tuesday morning.
"I was warning people that there was a shooting on the train and to be careful," Catherine said during a phone interview.
"They saw the warning and then they said it was my brother. I was shocked.
"[The Police] said something like he left his card [at the scene]. But I haven't spoken to him in about three years [because of] family stuff.”
James' was initially named by police as a person of interest in the case on Tuesday evening, before being officially named as a suspect the following morning. He was taken into custody on Wednesday afternoon after 30 hours on the run.
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Police believe the 62-year-old, who has ties to Philadelphia and Wisconsin, opened fire on a packed Manhattan-bound N train on Tuesday morning as it approached 36th Street station.
The bloodbath left 10 people shot and more than a dozen others injured. Several of the victims suffered smoke inhalation after James allegedly detonated two smoke canisters amid the rampage.
None of the injuries were considered life-threatening. Authorities said a magazine jammed in the gun, which possibly prevented further casualties.
James was tied to the shooting after one of his credit cards was recovered from the scene along with a U-Haul key, police said. That card was used to hire a U-haul van that was also being sought in connection to the case and later found.
Read our Brooklyn subway shooting live blog for the very latest news and updates...
The motive for the shooting remains unclear. Officials said the incident is not being investigated as an act of terror at this time, though refused to rule it out as a possibility in the future.
'A LONER'
Shortly after James was named as a person of interest in the shocking case, a series of disturbing videos came to light in which he was apparently seen discussing violence and mass shootings.
In one clip, James says: "... I wanted to kill people. I wanted to watch people die right in front of my f**king face immediately."
The accused shooter was finally taken into custody on Wednesday afternoon, more than 30 hours after the gunfire erupted in Brooklyn, turning what should've been an ordinary morning commute into a nightmare for swaths of straphangers.
James, wearing all black, was detained by police on 1st Avenue between 7th and 8th Streets after a bystander recognized him and called 911.
Heavily armed cops wearing bulletproof vests were seen swooping on an apartment block in the Bronx earlier Wednesday morning, where one of the suspect's family members is believed to live.
Three sets of law enforcement entered the same building over the course of two hours.
An emergency alert was also sent out to people in NYC on Wednesday, asking the public for their help to locate James.
The NYPD released new surveillance pictures of the suspect. In one of the pictures, James appeared to be grinning as he emerged from an underground station.
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.
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.
HARROWING ENCOUNTER
Victims and witnesses to Tuesday's terrifying morning rush-hour shooting have recounted the horrors they witnessed when the masked gunman opened fire at around 8.30am yesterday.
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.
After boarding the train, Gjeloshi said he noticed the suspect sitting in the corner, mumbling to himself.
“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 Post.
When the train briefly stopped underground after leaving the 59th Street station, the suspect suddenly pulled out a gas mask and placed it over his face, 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.”
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.
NEAR MISS
A witness to the aftermath of the shooting, Konrad Aderer, told The US Sun he was warned away from the mayhem by a bloodied victim who had been shot in the legs.
Aderer had been making his way down a flight of steps inside the station when he saw a victim of the shooting hobbling towards him, calling out to MTA staff that there were people hurt and bleeding on the platform below.
"I saw this guy come up to the station booth, his pants were down and he was bleeding from both of his legs," Aderer said.
"He was very animatedly telling the agent that there were people injured and bleeding on the platform. I thought I heard him say something about a shooting but I wasn't totally sure at the time."
Aderer said he felt incredibly concerned for the bleeding man. He considered hanging around to find out more and seeing if he could help out in any way, but ultimately he decided to "just get out."
"Part of me wanted to find out what happened and help but it just didn't seem wise," Aderer said. "I have a family and I just would have been risking myself and not really helping [by being there]."
Arderer added that he believes he may have missed being on the platform during the shooting by just a matter of minutes.
Arderer, who lives in locally with his family, said he was ultimately held up by a series of "unusual" events, including an interaction with a crying woman who asked to borrow his phone after losing hers.
SUSPECT CAUGHT
Mayor Eric Adams celebrated the arrest of James in a video on Wednesday, rejoicing: "My fellow New Yorkers, we got him. We got him."
The suspected gunman was taken into custody without incident, New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said.
"He will be charged with committing yesterday's appalling crime in Brooklyn," Sewell added.
Breon Peace, US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said during a press conference that James will face multiple counts, including the use of a dangerous weapon to cause death and serious injury to passengers and employees on the New York subway system.
Additionally, James has been charged with one count of violating 18 U.S.C. 1992(a)(7), which prohibits terrorist and other violent attacks against mass transportation systems.
The suspect faces a sentence of up to life imprisonment if convicted, according to Peace.
"Yesterday was a dark day for all of us," Peace said.
"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 have been ongoing truly shines bright."
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A wanted poster released by police Wednesday morning described James as "armed and dangerous."
Anyone with information, videos or photos related to the shooting is urged to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
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