Featured Image Credit: NYPD/Twitter - @NY_ACTIONS
Topics: US News
Jess Hardiman
New York subway shooting suspect Frank James has been arrested by police in New York, law enforcement officials have confirmed.
In a press conference today (Wednesday 13 April), New York Mayor Eric Adams thanked the police and first responders for their efforts, saying: "My fellow New Yorkers, we got him. We got him."
New York Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said James, 62, was stopped on the street and arrested after officers responded to a Crimestoppers tip, and would be charged for yesterday's incident.
Advert
"Moments ago, Frank Robert James was stopped on the street and arrested by members of the New York City Police Department," she said, praising the work of those who managed to 'shrink his world quickly' so that the had 'nowhere left to run'.
Sewell added: "He was taken into custody without incident, and has been transported to a New York City Police Department facility.
"He will be charged with committing yesterday’s appalling crime in Brooklyn."
Breon Peace, US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said that if James is convicted, he faces up to life in prison.
Yesterday, a gunman set off two smoke canisters in a New York subway at the 36th Street station before shooting 10 people, with a further 13 injured in the immediate fallout of the attack.
The gunman had managed to escape the chaos, but left behind a number of clues - including the gun, ammunition magazines, a hatchet, smoke grenades, gasoline and the key to a U-Haul van.
That key led investigators to James, a New York City native who also had more recent addresses in Philadelphia and Wisconsin.
Following the incident, New York Police Department confirmed James was a 'person of interest' in the incident.
The force later said James was wanted in connection with 'firing numerous gunshots inside of a subway car causing serious injuries to 10 victims', saying there was a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the 'arrest and indictment of this person'.
The van was found unoccupied near a station, which was where investigators determined the gunman had entered the subway system.
Investigators believe James may have driven up from Philadelphia on Monday 13 April, having reviewed surveillance video showing a man matching his physical description emerging from the vehicle early the next morning.