Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Man sought in connection to Tuesday's subway shooting: NYPD
By
Gwynne Hogan
and
Phil Corso
Published Apr 12, 2022
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
NYPD
By
Gwynne Hogan
and
Phil Corso
Published Apr 12, 2022
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Police released images of a man potentially connected to Tuesday’s subway shooting in Sunset Park, but have yet to make any arrests in a rush hour attack that injured dozens.
Cops identified 62-year-old Frank R. James as a “person of interest” in connection to the shooting, which occurred at 8:24 a.m. on a Manhattan-bound N train between the 59th street and 36th street stations in Sunset Park, leaving 10 injured from gunfire and an additional 13 injured during the rush to escape the station.
As of Tuesday night, officials said none of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening. Lacy Scarmana, a spokesperson for NYU Langone Hospital confirmed of the 21 people they treated for gunshot wounds and smoke inhalation at their Brooklyn location, and all but five had been released as of Tuesday evening.
“We are truly fortunate that this was not significantly worse than it is,” said NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell. “We know this incident is of grave concern to New Yorkers. We cannot lose sight of victims in this city. We will use every resource we can to bring those to justice who continue to pray on the citizens of New York.”
The NYPD said four of the victims were young people — ages 12, 13, 16 and 18. The oldest of the victims was 46. Police did not specify the nature of injuries for the various ages but said generally that injuries ranged from panic attacks and smoke inhalation to gunshot wounds.
Items of interest left behind at the scene, including the suspected weapon and a set of keys, linked police to a U-Haul van registered in James’ name, the NYPD said. At a press conference on Tuesday evening, Chief of Detectives James Essig said officers recovered the van about four miles away from the scene of the crime in Gravesend hours earlier, but did not locate James, whose name is tied to addresses in both Wisconsin and Philadelphia.
“Witnesses state the male opened up two smoke grenades, tossed them on the subway floor, brandishes a Glock nine millimeter handgun,” Essig said. “He then fired that weapon at least 33 times, striking 10 people.”
At the scene, Essig also said police recovered the Glock, three extended Glock magazines, a hatchet and gasoline.
Police were careful not to refer to James as a suspect, but said they were tracking his social media posts which included New York-specific references.
“There were some postings possibly connected to our person of interest where he mentions homelessness. He mentioned New York and he does mention Mayor Adams,” Sewell told reporters. “As a result of that, in an abundance of caution we're going to tighten up their security detail.”
A reward of $50,000 was offered up to anyone who could lead police to the suspect.
Police also confirmed that videos inside three subway stations weren’t working at the time of the attack and they were still investigating why that was the case.
The Tuesday morning attack wreaked havoc on a Manhattan-bound N train during the morning commute. The attacker managed to flee amid all the confusion, evading arrest throughout the day Tuesday. It snarled subway service most of the day, and forced public school students to shelter in their place in nearby schools.
While major felonies committed on city subways are up 73 percent compared to the same time last year according to NYPD data, random attacks like Tuesday’s that wound multiple straphangers are relatively rare. Still incidents like Tuesday’s send shockwaves throughout the entire system at a time when the MTA is desperate for riders to return.
Yesenia Rodriguez who lives near the scene of the Sunset Park attack said she typically rides the subway for errands, but said now she wasn’t so sure.
“I feel scared,” she said. “I wouldn’t get the train for a long time, maybe a year.”
Emily Lang and Caroline Lewis contributed reporting.
Tagged
nypd
Gwynne Hogan
Gwynne Hogan is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Phil Corso
Phil Corso is the evening news editor at WNYC/Gothamist. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Mamdani names re-entry specialist as chair of Rikers oversight board
Christopher Watler will help the department that a federal monitor says remains in crisis.
By
Ryan Kost
Published Oct 6, 2026 at 3:52 p.m. ET
Facing drought and sea level rise, authority looks at expanding major NY reservoir
The Delaware River Basin Commission is evaluating options to increase water storage, including expanding a reservoir in New York City.
By
Rosemary Misdary
News
Facing drought and sea level rise, authority looks at expanding major NY reservoir
The Delaware River Basin Commission is evaluating options to increase water storage, including expanding a reservoir in New York City.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Legionella found in Staten Island building's water system after 2 positive cases
By
Catalina Gonella
Legal 'loophole' helps NY Gov. Kathy Hochul, Bruce Blakeman raise millions
By
Jon Campbell
Police identify 2 men wanted for stabbing an off-duty NYPD officer
By
Ben Feuerherd
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .