New York City Mayor Eric Adams said that the he would not allow the city to be terrorised amid a manhunt for a gunman wearing a gas mask who opened fire on a Brooklyn subway on Tuesday.
The mayor addressed the city remotely after he had tested positive for Covid-19. He added that the city had not found any live explosive devices but the suspect detonated smoke bombs to “cause havoc.”
“We will not allow New Yorkers to be terrorised, even by a single individual,” he said.
The mayor said the New York Police Department was looking for the suspect, “and we will find him.”
NYPD described the suspect as a Black male wearing a gas mask, a green “construction style” vest over a grey hoodie carrying a book bag. So far, at least 10 people were counted as shot and 18 more were injured after the shooting. Police said the attack began when the suspect deployed a gas canister in a train car before opening fire.
Late on Tuesday 12 April, police named Frank R James as a person of interest in the case, though authorities were careful not to suggest that Mr James carried out the shooting.
Police said 33 shots were fired in the shooting, and announced a $50,000 reward for information about the crime.
Five of the shooting victims were reportedly in critical but stable condition and at least 16 people were hospitalised for injuries including smoke inhalation.
The department’s commissioner Keechant Sewell said the attack was “not being investigated as an act of terrorism” before later saying she was “not ruling anything out.”
“We do not know the motive,” she said.
The state’s attorney general Letitia James called the shooting “a dark day for New York.”
“The mass shooting in Brooklyn this morning is heart breaking, and I'm praying for every single New Yorker who was injured and impacted,” she said.
A gun, magazines, gas canisters and fireworks were recovered from the scene, with the investigation suggesting the gun may have jammed.
Police also said they are searching for a U-Haul van with Arizona plates numbered AL31408.
As the manhunt continues, authorities have come under scrutiny for the suspect’s escape as Mr Adams confirmed that surveillance cameras in the 36th Street station malfunctioned and thus did not capture the attack.
