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Brooklyn subway shooting

By Nicole Sanchez, Staff Writer

On Tuesday, April 12, a man attacked the N subway train in Brooklyn. He set off smoke grenades and opened fire, leaving 23 people injured. He was disguised as a construction worker and turned the subway car into a bloodbath. 

Commuters were riding the subway as it neared the 36th Street subway station in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park just before 8:30 a.m.. A gunman opened two smoke grenades, a 9 mm handgun and fired at least 33 times hitting 10 people, seven men and three women. Those victims hurt are in critical condition but are stable and will soon make a full recovery. 

“I heard a pregnant woman was sadly shot. It just breaks my heart knowing there are people out there that have so much hate in their heart that they could hurt so many people, especially a woman who is carrying a child,” freshman psychology major Olivia Nawara said. 

Left behind at the scene were a 9 mm Glock handgun, three extended magazines, a hatchet, gasoline, four smoke grenades, fireworks and a credit card. Within those findings, they also recovered keys to a U-Haul van that had been rented in Philadelphia.

“It makes me scared to ride the subway again, especially knowing how easy it was for the person who did this to bring all these weapons into the subway. Living in New York the subway is our  number one transportation and I’ll never be riding one again,” sophomore education major Alana Fried said. 

A manhunt for the suspect had been put into place and the NYPD identified 62-year-old Frank James as the person of interest. It took about 24 hours to find James. Police received a tip regarding his whereabouts, only to find out it was James reporting on himself. He called the police saying he knew he was wanted and that they could find him at McDonald’s at Sixth Street and First Avenue in the East Village in Manhattan. 

Junior education major Ashley Calley was nervous about the time it took for police to locate James.

 “It’s really concerning that the police took a long time to find him,” she said. “If they took longer, who knows maybe he would’ve fled to another country. It’s absolutely scary.”

James made his first court appearance on Thursday, and will be held without bail after being charged with conducting a violent attack against a mass transportation system. He had made no remarks during the appearance except understanding the charges against him. His lawyers requested that James be given a psychiatric evaluation and magnesium pills for his cramps. 

Currently, there is no known motive for the actions of James.f he is found guilty, he will face a sentence of life in prison.

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