Suspect still at large after Brooklyn subway station shooting

Suspected Brooklyn subway shooter Frank James is escorted out of the 9th Precinct by law enforcement officials after being arrested in New York's East Village neighborhood on Wednesday April 13.

Suspected Brooklyn subway shooter Frank James was arrested today in New York’s East Village neighborhood, officials say, after police received a tip.

James was arrested after an intensive manhunt after authorities recovered a U-Haul van in Brooklyn, which officials believed was rented by the suspect after keys were found at the scene. The shooter’s motive is still unknown, officials say.

James has so far been charged with violating a law that prohibits terrorist and other violent attacks against a mass transportation system, according to the US attorney for the Eastern District of New York. He will be arraigned in federal court.

Ten people were shot at a Brooklyn subway station Tuesday, officials said. Authorities said the suspect put on a gas mask, deployed a gas canister and then began shooting, firing at least 33 times.

If you’re catching up, here’s what else you need to know about today’s developments in the Brooklyn subway shooting:

New York City Police and law enforcement officials lead subway shooting suspect Frank R. James, 62, center, away from a police station, in New York on Wednesday, April 13.

Shooting suspect Frank James will have his initial court appearance on Thursday in federal court in Brooklyn, according to John Marzulli, spokesperson for the US attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York.

The timing for the court appearance will be confirmed Thursday morning, Marzulli said.

James is now in federal custody. CNN has reached out to his federal defender, Mia Eisner-Grynberg, for comment.

The suspect in the Brooklyn subway shooting called in a tip to Crime Stoppers that led to his capture, two law enforcement sources tell CNN.

Frank James called in the tip to the police and told them he was at a McDonald’s on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the sources confirmed.

At an earlier news conference Wednesday, an NYPD official said the tip indicated the suspect was at a McDonald’s on 6th Street and 1st Avenue.

Police responded to the McDonald’s and did not find James, the police official said.

But upon driving around they spotted him on the corner of St. Marks Place and 1st Avenue and arrested him, officials said at the news conference.

An image of the Glock 17 found at the scene had scratch marks on its serial number. 

The Glock 17 that authorities found at the scene of the Brooklyn subway shooting had scratch marks on its serial number, according to a court document.

A complaint against suspected Brooklyn subway shooter Frank James shows a photo of the Glock pistol with scratches over two areas where a serial number appears, and prosecutors said they believe the marks “appear to reflect that an attempt was made to deface the serial number.”

Prosecutors said in the complaint that they believe the gun was purchased lawfully in Ohio by a man named Frank Robert James, and that it was used in the shooting.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is seen during a press conference at the site of a shooting at the 36 St subway station on April 12.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she’s “deeply grateful” that the suspected Brooklyn subway shooter was arrested and is directing state agencies to assist in the investigation, in a statement Wednesday.

The statement continued, “My heart is with all those who are injured, their loved ones, and the entire Sunset Park community. The epidemic of gun violence that continues to terrorize communities across this country must end. My pledge to New Yorkers is this: I will fight every day to restore public safety, get guns off our streets, and prevent these horrific acts of violence.”

Brooklyn subway shooting suspect Frank James documented his travel from Wisconsin to the northeast over a series of YouTube videos posted in recent weeks. 

In a video uploaded on March 20, James said that he had left Milwaukee — authorities have said he is associated with addresses in Wisconsin — and was spending the night in a Fort Wayne, Indiana, hotel.

“Just on the drive man I’m just thinking because I’m heading back into the danger zone so to speak,” he said in that video. “You know, it is triggering a lot of negative thoughts of course because I do suffer, I have a bad severe case of post-traumatic stress after the sh*t I’ve been through all the f***ing years man.”

James indicated that he was transporting all his belongings in the van and that he would be storing some of them in a Philadelphia-area storage unit. Although James said that Philadelphia was his final destination, he said that the Penske truck he rented needed to be dropped off in Newark, New Jersey.

CNN reached out to Penske, who would not confirm that James rented a van, but did say they had reached out to the FBI to assist in their investigation.

After the night in Fort Wayne, James continued east and made his way to Pittsburgh, where he said in a video uploaded on March 21 that he was staying in a hotel near the Pittsburgh International Airport.

The next night, in another video, James said that he had gotten a hotel near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

In that video, he is seen drinking whiskey and later, begins to show signs of intoxication. Towards the end of the video, he begins slurring his words and at one point, he says he is falling asleep.

He said that he had recently stopped drinking because it gave him “the shakes.”

Around March 25, James uploaded a video claiming that he had made it to the Philadelphia area. It’s unclear where James was between March 22 and March 25 based on the videos.

In that March 25 video, James said he was staying in a Best Western hotel in Bordentown, New Jersey. He also gave his room number and a small tour of the room.

James is also seen drinking in that video.

“Alright, so I tried to get high by dragging some Jim Beam a little earlier to make this video,” he said. “Want to be high to make this video because I felt that I couldn’t really — I seem to do my best work when I’m high.”

James also said that he was last in New York “a few years ago.

In the video, James also mentions that he would be staying in the hotel until March 28, when he would move to other lodging inside Philadelphia.

The videos have since been removed by YouTube.

CNN has confirmed that James rented a short-term rental apartment on West Ontario Street in Philadelphia. A neighbor identified James to CNN, saying that James was at the apartment last week seen taking boxes out of a U-Haul truck.

The neighbor also told CNN that law enforcement recently searched the apartment.

In a criminal complaint unsealed after James was taken into custody, prosecutors alleged that James did in fact rent an apartment and a storage unit in Philadelphia. Records from rideshare operator Lyft indicate that he visited the facility on April 11 on 6:17 p.m. ET, according to the complaint.

Those records also indicate that James ordered approximately 21 rides to and from the apartment from March 28 and April 10. CNN has reached out to the management company for the Philadelphia apartment for comment but has not yet received a response.

According to the complaint, records from the apartment management company indicate James rented the apartment for at least 15 days.

James did not mention any plans to visit the New York area or convey any concrete plans that he was planning a shooting in the videos that CNN has reviewed.

CNN has previously reported that on April 6, James made a reservation to pick up a U-Haul van on April 11 in Philadelphia, according to documentation of the transaction.

At 4 a.m. ET Tuesday, just hours before the attack, James drove the U-Haul van into Brooklyn from Staten Island across the Verrazzano bridge, CNN has reported.

James was taken into custody on Manhattan’s Lower East Side on Wednesday afternoon around 2 p.m. ET.

New York City Police Department officers arrest subway shooting suspect Frank R. James, 62, in the East Village section, of New York on Wednesday, April 13.

CNN has obtained new video showing the arrest of subway shooting suspect Frank James.

Officials said James was arrested without incident by patrol officers on the street in New York’s East Village neighborhood on Wednesday afternoon after police got a tip on its Crime Stoppers hotline.

The video shows James in handcuffs being escorted by two police officers in the street.

Watch the video here:

YouTube confirmed on Wednesday that it removed an account that appeared to be from Brooklyn subway shooting suspect Frank James.

James, who was arrested on Thursday as a suspect in the New York subway shooting, had talked about violence and mass shootings in videos posted on the social media platform — including one uploaded Monday.

Malon went on to say that YouTube’s systems are “prominently surfacing videos from authoritative sources in search and recommendations.”

Chief of Detectives James Essig speaks during a press conference on April 13 in New York.

New York City Police Department Chief of Detectives James Essig detailed what suspect Frank James did after shooting at passengers on a Brooklyn subway on Tuesday.

The official also noted that the construction helmet James was wearing was recovered in a garbage bin.

Essig said officials then tracked James’ location before he was arrested.

“We tracked Mr. James, and his last known whereabouts was 7th Avenue and 9th Street in Park Slope, entering the subway. Minutes ago, thankfully, NYPD patrol officers from the 9th Precinct responded to St. Marks [Place] and First Avenue, where they apprehended him without incident,” Essig said, noting that the suspect was in Park Slope at about 9:15 a.m. ET yesterday.

Kenneth Corey, the NYPD chief of department, described how the arrest unfolded today, explaining that investigators got a CrimeStoppers tip that the suspect was in a McDonald’s at 6th Street and First Avenue in the East Village.

“Officers respond to the McDonald’s. He’s not in the McDonald’s. They start driving around the neighborhood looking for him, they see him on the corner of St. Marks [Place] and First [Avenue] and they take him into custody,” he said.

The case was quickly solved using technology and video canvassing, he added. He also thanked federal and regional partners.

Janno Lieber, chair of New York City’s Metropolitan Transit Authority, said that New Yorkers will “rest a little easier tonight” thanks to the work of NYPD officials in arresting the suspected Brooklyn subway shooter.

The statement continued: “With the support of Governor Hochul, Mayor Adams has made a powerful commitment to subway safety and has already taken significant steps to increase the presence and visibility of NYPD officers in the transit system—especially on platforms and trains, where riders want to see them most. We look forward to continuing to strengthen this partnership as we restore riders’ confidence in the transit system.”

Breon Peace speaks during a press conference on April 13 in New York.

The Brooklyn US Attorney said today that the subway shooting suspect will be charged in federal court.

Breon Peace, US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said that Frank 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. Peace said that 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.

He will face a sentence of up to life imprisonment if convicted, Peace said.

Peace added that his office intends to prove that “James traveled across a state line in order to commit the offense and transported materials across a state line in aid of the commission of the offense.”

NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell speaks during a press conference on April 13 in New York.

Suspected Brooklyn subway shooter Frank James was stopped on the street and arrested by NYPD officers who were responding to a crime stoppers tip, New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said.

“He was taken into custody without incident and has been transported to NYPD facility,” Sewell continued.

James will charged with committing yesterday’s “appalling crime in Brooklyn,” the official said. “We were able to shrink his world quickly, there was nowhere else for him to run,” she added.

James was previously arrested nine times in New York City, according to New York Police Department Chief of Detectives James Essig.

“Through the course of this investigation, we developed additional information and evidence,” he said Wednesday. “Mr. James is a male, 62 years old. He is known to us and has ties in Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York City. His arrest history in New York is nine prior arrests, dating from 1992 to 1998. Those include possession of burglary tools four times, criminal sex act, theft of service two times. He was arrested on a New Jersey warrant. He also has a criminal tampering.”

Additionally, James has three arrests in New Jersey, Essig said.

“He has three arrests to New Jersey. In 1991, 1992, and 2007. They are for trespass, larceny and disorderly conduct,” he told reporters.

However, James had no felony convictions so he was able to purchase a gun, Essig said in response to a reporter’s question.

Here’s where the arrest occurred:

CNN’s Kristina Sgueglia contributed reporting to this post.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks during a press conference on April 13.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams opened a news conference following the arrest of Brooklyn subway shooting suspect Frank James telling New Yorkers “we got him.”

Adams, who tested positive for Covid-19 over the weekend, appeared via video link on Wednesday afternoon.

Adams thanked everyone who called in tips during the less than 30 hours that James was on the loose after Tuesday’s shooting.

New York Police Department Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell speaks during a press conference following the shooting on April 12 in New York City.

New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and other officials are providing an update on the Brooklyn subway shooting investigation.

Ahead of the briefing, law enforcement officials told CNN the suspected shooter Frank James was arrested by patrol officers in the East Village in New York City today.

The 62-year-old man, who police initially described as a “person of interest” in the shooting, was declared a suspect earlier Wednesday after investigators determined he purchased the gun recovered at the scene, law enforcement officials said.

An intensive hunt was underway for James, who police say is responsible for Tuesday’s attack. Two law enforcement officials told CNN that the gun evidence was the turning point in elevating him from a person of interest to a suspect.

The subway attack left 29 people injured, including 10 who were shot, though none of the injuries appear to be life-threatening, officials said. Five of the victims were young people commuting to school, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said.

The motive of the shooting is not yet known. The attack is not being investigated as an act of terrorism but authorities have not ruled out anything, the NYPD commissioner said.

The NYPD arrested Brooklyn subway shooting suspect Frank James after it got a tip on its Crime Stoppers hotline, according to two law enforcement sources.

Officers from the NYPD’s 9th Precinct in the East Village of Manhattan responded immediately, spotted him and took him into custody, according to one source.

Frank James is seen in these photos shared by the NYPD.

Suspected Brooklyn subway shooter Frank James was arrested by patrol officers in the East Village in New York City on Wednesday, three law enforcement officials tell CNN.

Patrol officers from the 9th Precinct downtown arrested him, they said.

The owner of Phantom Fireworks, Bruce Zoldan, provided CNN with a receipt showing a man named Frank James purchased fireworks and “color smoke balls” from a retail location in Wisconsin in June 2021. Zoldan told CNN he is working with the FBI. 

The receipt shows a brand of fireworks that matches the brand that investigators found at the scene, according to a picture of the evidence obtained by CNN. 

Phantom Fireworks, located in Caledonia, Wisconsin, released a statement, saying that it “cannot confirm that the purchaser and the person of interest are the same individual” as there is no video surveillance footage of the purchase available.

The company is cooperating with investigators, according to the statement.  

Of the 29 people who were hospitalized in connection with the Brooklyn subway shooting, 10 remain hospitalized as of early Wednesday afternoon, according to local hospitals.

Five people remain hospitalized at NYU Langone Hospital in Brooklyn, spokesperson David Koeppel told CNN. The hospital admitted the most patients from the subway shooting yesterday — 21 people in total. All victims still hospitalized are in stable condition with non-life threatening injuries, the spokesperson said. 

Two people remain hospitalized at Maimonides Medical Center and three people at New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, according to the hospitals. All the patients are in good or stable condition.

Investigators have linked the gun found at the scene of the subway shooting to suspect Frank James, according to law enforcement officials.

Three law enforcement officials told CNN that investigators have determined the gun recovered from the scene of the subway shooting was purchased by James. 

Two of those officials said linking the gun to James was part of the impetus in elevating James from a “person of interest” to a suspect in connection with the shooting. 

Investigators are learning more about the purchases that James made as they pour over evidence, including search warrants, sources said.

Authorities have tracked the purchase of a gas mask to James through an eBay account, according to one of the aforementioned law enforcement officials and a separate law enforcement official. 

When reached for comment, an eBay spokesperson said that “while we cannot comment on individual users’ activities, when contacted by law enforcement agencies, we fully cooperate and work closely with them to assist with their investigations.”

The New York City Police Department, in coordination with federal authorities, have continued to talk to victims and witnesses of the subway shooting, have interviewed known family members of James, and have conducted search warrants as part of its investigative efforts in finding him, one of the officials told CNN.

Investigators also continue to comb through James’ social media footprint, the source said.

CNN’s Richard Davis contributed to this report.

Emergency personnel search a U-Haul van following the shooting on Tuesday, April 12, in New York.

Investigators did not find any other weapons or explosives in the U-Haul van discovered in connection with the Brooklyn subway shooting, law enforcement officials said.

One official said no weapons or explosives were found, and a second source also said no explosives were found.

The van, which investigators say was rented by suspect Frank James, did have remnants of food in it, one source said.

Both sources said it appeared he may have slept in the vehicle.  

Both law enforcement sources also say a license plate reader detected the van driving over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge into Brooklyn, from Staten Island, around 4 a.m. ET Tuesday.