New York City mayor Eric Adams (D) on Wednesday said that the suspect who wounded dozens of people in a shooing on a subway train on Tuesday “carried out a very sick action.”
During an appearance on NBC’s “Today,” Adams told host Savannah Guthrie that authorities have been briefed on the suspect’s social media posts, noting that authorities now need to focus on his “apprehension at this time” and gather the evidence they need for this case.
“We also must make sure that he’s prosecuted and that is why we’re extremely delicate about the information and the evidence that we’re releasing at this time,” Adams told Guthrie.
When the “Today” host asked if Adams has any personal concerns about his safety in response to the suspect’s social media threats, the mayor replied that authorities will need to take an “overabundance of caution” until authorities apprehend a person who carried out a violent attack.
“Officials have beefed up your security in light of what he … this person of interest said on social media. Do you have any concerns about your personal safety?” Guthrie asked.
“Well, I think that the police commissioner, out of an overabundance of caution, of, you know — from time to time we receive, you know, a level of threats but you have a person that carried out a very sick action to harm innocent people in our system,” Adams said. “So I think the police commissioner out of an overabundance of caution is taking the necessary steps until this person is apprehended, this person of interest is brought in.”
The comments from the mayor come as authorities have launched a massive manhunt for the suspect who injured 29 individuals in a shooting on a Brooklyn borough subway train during rush hour Tuesday morning.
Authorities have identified 62-year-old Frank James as the person of interest in the subway attack, pointing to a number of James’s social media posts that have surfaced showing him criticizing Adams for not helping people with mental health needs.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has announced a $50,000 reward for those who help authorities gather information leading to the arrest of James.