Brooklyn shooting update: Frank James ordered to be held behind bars in first federal court appearance
James, 62, is charged with terrorism on a mass transportation system over Tuesday’s Brooklyn subway attack
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Suspected terrorist Frank James appeared in Brooklyn federal court for the first time on Thursday where a judge ordered him to be held behind bars until his trial and his lawyers requested he undergo a psychological exam.
Mr James, 62, is charged with terrorism on a mass transportation system over Tuesday’s Brooklyn subway attack where he allegedly shot 10 people before going on the run for 30 hours.
The suspect was finally arrested in Manhattan’s East Village on Wednesday afternoon when he called CrimeStoppers himself to tell police he was at a nearby McDonald’s.
Officers descended on the fast food joint to find him gone, before taking him into custody nearby along St. Mark’s Place and First Avenue.
Mr James is accused of injuring around 30 people in Tuesday morning’s rush hour attack in Sunset Park.
The gunman donned a gas mask on a packed N train travelling to Manhattan and opened a gas canister, before opening fire as the train travelled into 36 Street station.
His motive remains unclear but disturbing YouTube videos show Mr James ranting about Mayor Eric Adams, the subway system and NYC’s mental health system.
Defence attorneys request psychological exam for alleged terrorist
The defence team for alleged subway terrorist Frank James have requested that the 62-year-old undergo a psychological exam ahead of his trial on a charge of terrorism on mass transportation.
US Magistrate Roanne Mann agreed that she would ask the Federal Bureau of Prisons to give Mr James “psychiatric attention” at the federal prison in Brooklyn where he will be held until his trial.
The 62-year-old’s attorney Mia Eisner-Grynberg also requested magnesium tablets for his leg cramps.
She agreed to Mr James being held without bail for the time being.
Prosecutor says Brooklyn subway shooting struck terror across New York not seen since 9/11
The Brooklyn subway shooting terrorised New York City in a way not experienced since the September 11 terrorist attacks, a federal prosecutor said during Frank James first court appearance on Thursday.
Prosecutor Sara Winik compared Tuesday’s terrorist attack – where a gunman shot 10 people and left at least 20 others injured – to the darkest day in the city, and nation’s history.
“The defendant terrifyingly opened fire on passengers on a crowded subway train, interrupting their morning commute in a way the city hasn’t seen in more than 20 years,” she said.
“The defendant’s attack was premeditated, was carefully planned, and it caused terror among the victims and our entire city.”
Everything you need to know from Frank James’ first court appearance
Frank James was denied bail as he appeared in federal court for the first time on Thursday charged with terrorism on mass transit.
The Independent’s Bevan Hurley has the full story:
Brooklyn shooting suspect Frank James ordered to remain in custody
Frank James, 62, is accused of firing 33 shots into a crowded subway car
Teenager shot in head in Brooklyn close to scene of subway attack
A teenager was shot in the head outside a shopping mall in Brooklyn on Wednesday - just three miles from the scene of the shocking terrorist attack one day earlier.
The NYPD said the incident unfolded at around 5.20pm when a group of boys got into an altercation with a second group of boys outside the Atlantic Terminal Mall along Flatbush Avenue.
During the dispute, a 15-year-old boy was shot in the left side of his head, suffering a non-life-threatening graze. Police said he was taken to hospital and was in a stable condition.
The suspect fled from the scene on foot with no arrests made.
The incident marks the latest violent crime to rock New York City just one day after suspected gunman Frank James shot 10 people on a subway in the Sunset Park neighbourhood of Brooklyn.
MTA admits faulty subway cameras were flagged two days before attack
The MTA has admitted that officials knew the camera system at the 36 Street subway station was faulty two days before Tuesday’s terrorist attack but had failed to fix it.
Maintenance workers had carried out an inspection of the camera system on Sunday and learned that it was malfunctioning due to a fibre-optic cable connection failure.
The glitch not only impacted camera feeds at 36 Street – where the terrorist attack took place – but also meant feeds were down at two other stations in the area.
The other affected stations were the local stop immediately before the shooting – 45 Street – and the stop immediately after the shooting – 25 Street.
The suspected shooter took an R train from 36 Street to 25 Street immediately after the shooting and exited the subway system there, police said.
The maintenance workers flagged the issue to transit officials but the camera system was not fixed prior to Tuesday’s attack.
With the subway camera systems down, the investigation into the shooting was hampered and it was many hours before the police had any images of the perpetrator and even longer before they revealed his identity.
Shop manager describes moment he helped apprehend suspect Frank James
A Manhattan shop manager has spoken out about the moment he helped apprehend suspected subway shooter Frank James after he went on the run following Tuesday’s attack.
Francisco Puebla told The Independent he was standing near the doorway of the hardware store he manages in the East Village when he saw the city’s most wanted man stroll by.
“I saw him and my eyes just went right to his face. Yeah it’s him,” said Mr Puebla, a 46-year-old father of two.
It had been more than 24 hours since someone matching Mr James’ description opened fire on a busy subway train in Brooklyn, injuring at least 23 people and bringing chaos to the city during rush hour.
The Independent’s Richard Hall has the full story:
Shop manager describes dramatic moment he helped capture Brooklyn shooter
Frank James is accused of opening fire on a busy Brooklyn subway train
Timeline of terrorist attack, events leading up to it and capture of Frank James
Suspected mass shooter Frank James allegedly travelled across multiple states with a trove of weapons before carrying out Tuesday’s terrorist attack.
The Independent has pieced together a timeline of the events based on the criminal complaint against him, law enforcement statements, surveillance footage, eyewitness accounts and Mr James’ now-removed YouTube channel.
20 March: Mr James left his home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and began the journey to Philadelphia in a rental van.
He chronicled his journey on his now-removed YouTube channel.
In one video, he said he had stopped for the night in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and planned to stop near Pittsburgh then Harrisburg in Pennsylvania before reaching Philadelphia.
28 March: Mr James rented a two-bedroom apartment in Philadelphia through vacation rental website Evolve.
He rented the apartment for 15 days. On Wednesday, investigators found an empty magazine for a Glock handgun, a taser, a high-capacity rifle magazine and a blue smoke cannister left behind at the property by the suspect.
Lyft records reveal that Mr James ordered rides to or from the apartment around 21 times between 28 March and 10 April.
6 April: Mr James reserved and paid in advance to rent a white Chevrolet U-Haul from Philadelphia. The vehicle was rented under his own name and he provided his own phone number, date of birth and his Wisconsin driver’s licence.In the booking, he said his preferred method of contact was by text message.
11 April: Mr James then collected the rental at 2.03pm on the afternoon of 11 April.
At 6.17pm that evening, Mr James visited a storage facility in Philadelphia, according to Lyft records.
Investigators have since found ammunition and an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle among the possessions beign stored there.
The U-Haul vehicle was then driven across state lines from Pennsylvania to New Jersey and then to New York.
12 April: Day of the attack
4.11am – Surveillance footage captured the U-Haul van driving over the Verrazano Narrows Bridge from Staten Island into Brooklyn - just four hours before the attack.
6.12am – Suspect captured on surveillance camera dressed in orange construction vest, yellow hard hat walking leaving van by foot and walking along West 7th Street and Kings Highway in Brooklyn.
He is seen wheeling a rolling bag in his left hand and carrying a backpack in his right hand.
8.26am – Gunman dons a gas mask and throws a gas canister inside a subway carriage on an N train travelling northbound as it travels toward 36 Street station in Sunset Park.
8.40am – Following the attack, suspect joins panicked riders fleeing the scene on an R train to 25 Street. He is seen on surveillance footage leaving the subway system at that station at around 8.40am.
9.15am – Suspect is captured on surveillance footage entering a subway station at Prospect Park.
Late afternoon – Police locate the U-Haul van parked close to Kings Highway in Brooklyn following a tip-off from a member of the public.
The NYPD names Mr James a person of interest in the shooting.
13 April: Mr James is upgraded to the sole suspect in shooting.
New Yorkers send in tips to NYPD’s CrimeStoppers.
Mr James calls CrimeStoppers and tells police he is at a McDonald’s in the East Village of Manhattan.
Officers arrive on the scene to find Mr James gone but he is apprehended close by at 1.42pm along St. Mark’s and First Avenue.
He is questioned at 9th Precinct before being transferred into federal custody. He is charged with staging a terrorist attack on mass transit.
14 April: Mr James appears in Brooklyn federal court for the first time where he was held without bond and ordered to remain in custody until his trial.
His attorney requested he undergo a psychiatric exam.
Stockpile of weapons found in several locations tied to suspect
A stockpile of weapons and ammunition has been found in several locations tied to suspected terrorist Frank James, according to court documents.
Inside the rented U-Haul truck Mr James allegedly drove from Philadelphia to Brooklyn before leaving close to Kings Highway where he boarded a subway, law enforcement officers found a propane tank.
A search of an apartment in Philadelphia where Mr James stayed from 28 March until 11 April on his journey to New York City uncovered an empty magazine for a Glock handgun, a taser, a high-capacity rifle magazine, and a blue smoke cannister, the documents state.
Law enforcement officers also recovered 9mm ammunition, a threaded 9mm pistol barrel that allows for a silencer or suppresser to be attached, targets, and .223 caliber ammunition, which is used with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, inside a storage unit rented by Mr James in Philadelphia.
This trove of weapons is in addition to those used to allegedly carry out Tuesday’s attack.
Found at the scene of the shooting was the Glock 17 pistol used in the attack, a container containing gasoline, a torch, and fireworks with explosive powder.
Attorney for alleged shooter urges people not to ‘rush to judgement’
An attorney for alleged Brooklyn subway shooter Frank James has urged people not to “rush to judgement” over Tuesday’s terrorist attack.
Public defender Mia Eisner-Grynberg spoke to reporters outside the Brooklyn federal courthouse on Thursday following Mr James’ court appearance where he was held without bond on a federal terrorism charge.
“We are all still learning about what happened on that train and we caution against a rush to judgment,” she said.
Frank James’ attorney says suspect called CrimeStoppers ‘to help’ investigation
An attorney for Frank James has claimed that the suspected terrorist called the NYPD’s CrimeStoppers to tip police off about his whereabouts because he wanted “to help” the investigation.
Public defender Mia Eisner-Grynberg spoke to reporters outside the Brooklyn federal courthouse on Thursday following Mr James’ court appearance where he was held without bond on a federal terrorism charge.
“What we do know is this: Yesterday Mr James saw his photograph on the news,” she said.
“He called CrimeStoppers to help. He told them where he was.”
Mr James called CrimeStoppers on Wednesday and said he was at a McDonald’s in Manhattan.
When officers arrived on the scene, he had gone but they found him close by along St. Mark’s Place and First Avenue, where he was arrested without incident.
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